On the Road to SOLDIER
by Aska Rain
Summary: Becoming a part of SOLDIER is no easy path, like Cloud expected, but the road was a little rougher and stranger than he had anticipated. Maybe “lesson number one, expect the unexpected” was more relevant than he had first taken it to be. Warning:yaoi
1. Ch 1: Welcome to Hell

**A/N: **Right up front I would like to point out a few key things. **1)** This story will contain **yaoi**, or **boyxboy **pairing, eventually. If you don't like that sort of thing than don't read this. I also don't wanna hear how you don't like yaoi in the reviews. **2)** This universe is slightly altered...actually, it's altered a lot. So don't expect this story to follow true to the events of Crisis Core, Final Fantasy 7, and so on. **3) **There might be a little bit of OOC-ness at some points in the story. I did my best to keep the characters as in character as i could. (If you catch anything to remarkably off about a character let me know and I can try to fix it. Your help would be much appreciated).

Well, that does it for all of that...stuff. Anyway, I would like to add one other thing. This is my first attempt at a yaoi. So needless to say but I hope this goes well. ^^

Oh yea, disclaimer...right. *mumbles* I don't own Final Fantasy 7, Crisis Core, or any of the related characters... .

OK, that covers everything...I think. So...On to the chapter 1! Hope you enjoy and reviews are appreciated!

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**Ch 1: Welcome to Hell**

"Alright, this is it. I can do this. I can do this", Cloud muttered to himself as he took lingering steps back and forth in front of the large double doors to Shinra's recruitment office near the front of their training facility and main military compound.

"No worries, I got this", Cloud reassured himself heaving a heavy sigh as he finally turned his pacing into official steps towards the large doors.

His footsteps clacked across the dark paneling just before the door. 'I can do this. I can do this. I can…I can…I can't do this. Who am I kidding? They're going to take one look at me and laugh. They're going to tell me…'

It was too late to abort now. The large doors slid open and revealed the atrium and front desk of the recruitment office. He couldn't turn back now. Well, he could but not without looking like a complete and total idiot.

Cloud took in a shaky breath before proceeding forward hoping to the gods that be that no one could tell he was shaking. 'I came this far haven't I? I can't turn back now. I told everyone I was going to do this so I'm going to do it.'

Finished with his less than elaborate self pep talk, Cloud lifted his chin a little higher and pulled back his shoulders, straitening his posture to look more confident. He strode as calmly as he could up to the front desk and stood in front of a woman in a navy blue skirt and matching jacket, typing away on her keyboard, dark brown eyes unmoving from her monitor. "I'm here fo…", Cloud began, cut off quickly and completely by the simple raising of the woman's slim hand giving him the "hold on a second" gesture.

Cloud fidgeted nervously, telling himself to remain calm, cool, and collected. He took another deep breath as he tugged on the excess cloth of his dark blue pants. The woman looked up briefly, eyeing him with her dark judging eyes. Another deep breath and…Cloud lost his composure internally.

He should just turn around and walk away. There was no way he would get past sign up. The powers that be would take one look at him, laugh, and tell him he looked to young or pathetic or…or…something.

A quick glance around the atrium didn't help Cloud at all. Everyone there looked more in their mid-twenties or older, and here he was, a fifteen year old boy with the hopes to join the ranks of the elites. He had to be the youngest one present at that moment, and he had to be the youngest one ever to show up and attempt this.

"Can I help you sir?"

"I beg your pardon", Cloud stammered as politely as he could as he came barreling back to reality and the woman sitting at the desk directly in front of him.

"Can I help you sir", the woman repeated with a sweet yet rehearsed tone giving him a delicate smile.

"I'm here to sign up", he replied before he had time to even think about what he was saying.

"Well, you're in the right place. This is the recruitment offices after all", she said with another smile taking a short look around. Cloud hit himself mentally. Of course he was here to sign up. It wasn't like there was a whole lot else anyone looking like him, but possibly a little more built, would be coming here to do.

"Well, yea. I mean sorry, that kinda just….slipped out. Of course I'm here to sign up. I…uh…", Cloud laughed nervously, growing quieter and quieter as he spoke and feeling dumber and dumber as he went.

"It's quite alright", the woman chuckled reassuringly, "Just take a breath and calm down. I don't bite. That's the actual recruiter's job. Now, who are you here to sign up with, and did you have a scheduled appointment with anyone in particular?"

"Oh n…no. I didn't have an appointment with anyone. I'm here to sign up for SOLDIER or for whatever I need to sign up for if I want to eventually make it there", Cloud explained a bit more calmly then he had managed thus far.

The receptionist gave a soft laugh at his explanation. She gave the wiry pale teen standing in front of her a quick look up and down, lifting herself up out of her chair a bit so she could get a better look. "No offense, but…you look a little young to be signing up for SOLDIER. You mind telling me how old you are? I might be able to save you a trip up to the wrong office."

That sealed it. He probably really was too young to join SOLDIER but…something about the woman's tone. Maybe he was too young for SOLDIER, but perhaps he was old enough to join something else that could better prepare him for the elite group. "I'm uh…sixteen mam", Cloud muttered loud enough for the receptionist to hear.

"Oh my, you still are pretty young. Ok, well sadly you're too young to sign up for SOLDIER, but you can however sign up for the main military as an infantryman. You can gain some basic training and experience. You may not get a whole lot of glamorous work, and you'll probably get more than your share of patrol and guard duty, but it would be a good first step for you. I can direct you up to Shinra's army recruitment office if you would like."

"O…ok. That sounds good."

The receptionist began to type on her computer again for a moment. "Ah, here we go. You're going to want to head up to the second floor, just use the elevator right over there, and turn right once you get off. Head down the hall and it's through the third set of doors on your left. There should be bronze lettering stating 'Shinra Army Recruitment Offices' you can't miss it", she smiled slipping him a small slip of paper with the office number scribbled on it.

"Thanks", Cloud nodded in appreciation of the woman's help and patience, taking the paper from her and clutching it tightly in his hand.

"Oh, and sweetheart", the woman called after the blond boy. Cloud turned and faced her wondering what else she could possibly have to say to him. "There are actually a lot of people that I have to redirect. No one really gets to just sign up for SOLDIER. So, in reality, what I'm saying is everyone who is interested in SOLDIER gets sent else where. Older 'recruits' just have more options because of their age and the option to sign up for an evaluation. So, don't get discouraged just yet. Work hard and I'm sure you will get the opportunity for evaluation."

Cloud gave the woman a weak smile. Of course no one got to sign up for SOLDIER. It was an elite organization after all. He had really just been trying to sign right up for SOLDIER for the heck of it. He might as well have given it a shot just in case, and he had. Some part of him had hoped he could just sign right up but the truth was he couldn't. But that didn't bother him because he could still make it there one day.

With a quick nod and a smile Cloud turned back towards the glass elevator and entered it, hitting the button for the second floor. The doors closed with a brief cling as an animated voice announced "now leaving the lobby".

This was just the beginning and Cloud was going to make the most of it. There was no way he was going to mess this up. He was going to join the military and then, one day, he would join SOLDIER just like he said he would. One day, he too would become a hero just like Sephiroth.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

That was almost a year or so ago now. Cloud had successfully joined the ranks of Shinra's military as a lowly foot soldier. He had literally signed the papers the same day he first walked into the recruiter's office, signing away at least the next few years of his life. He had returned home but only for around two months before he packed up his bags with a few select cherished possessions, pictures of mother and few friends, clothes, and the few bare essentials of travel, like a toothbrush and soap.

Sure, Cloud had left home before and, not to mention, traveled quite far from home. Clearly he already had, considering he had to leave home to go to Midgar to sign in the first place, and that had been anything but a days travel and a short overnight visit.

The only thing about leaving home this time was that Cloud wasn't coming back home in a week or so. No, this time he was leaving home without knowing when he would ever come back or if he would ever come back.

Cloud leaned back against his gray pillows and sighed, closing his light blue eyes. He could still remember the day he left Nibelheim last like it was yesterday.

The morning was particularly gray and gloomy, as dark clouds billowed carelessly overhead threatening to rain at any second. Despite their threatening appearance, however, Cloud knew that they wouldn't burst open letting lose the torrents of water they seemed to hold captive in their puffy clutches. The clouds would only look menacing for a few more hours and then they would begin to break up as the sun climbed higher into the sky and eventually reduce to nothing more than small white wisps by afternoon.

But, that knowledge didn't change how gray and dreary and miserable this morning looked. He tore himself from his window and gave his room one last look. Did he have everything that he absolutely wanted to bring? More importantly, did he have everything that he absolutely needed?

The last thing he wanted to do was make it all the way to Midgar and be in the middle of unpacking only to realize he had left something back home forcing him to write home asking his mother to mail it to him. That would be too embarrassing to ever live down. Not to mention a _great_way to get votes of confidence from everyone, including his mother and Tifa, back in Nibelheim.

It had already been difficult enough to convince his mother he was ready for this, not that it mattered if she was convinced or not since he had already signed the papers. And if the first letter home to his mother was asking her to mail something he had forgotten to him… well… it wouldn't be pretty.

Cloud was certain his mother would just lose it, convinced one hundred percent that her child just simply wasn't ready for his big step in life. First she would march up and demand that Shinra release him of his contract because he "just wasn't ready for this yet". If this failed she would move on to faze two of her master plan. In which she would storm the military compound, singlehandedly overthrowing the mighty Shinra, and end up carrying him home over her shoulder because he was still her "precious baby boy."

Cloud heaved a sigh. To avoid the possible embarrassment and undermining of all his convincing and arguing, he looked over his room one last time…again. Now that he thought about it, this was probably the cleanest his room had been in years. His mother would be thrilled…if the reason behind it being so clean hadn't been because he had packed the majority of clothes in a travel bag and had cleaned everything for her sake so she wouldn't have to after he left.

He looked to his bed, perfectly made, quilt slightly crinkled only because of a heavily packed tan travel bag that sat open on his bed. He walked over and picked up his sleep clothes, which he had changed out of only minutes before, and stuffed them down the side of his bag. He reached over, picked up his bag of toiletries, and threw them in on top of everything else. With a third final look around his room; Cloud struggled with the pull strings of his travel bag eventually defeating the over packed bag, pulling it shut tight.

He walked from his room after extinguishing the candle he had lit earlier, closing the worn wooden door behind him, not looking back until he reached the top of the stairs. Cloud paused at the top of the stairs feeling an urge to turn around and go back into his room, lay down on his bed, and go back to sleep so he could treat this day like any other day.

He couldn't do this, and he knew he couldn't. So he settled for looking back at his closed door, taking in the sight of the worn wood, the scratched bronze handle, and the messy sign hanging from the door that read "Cloud's Room" in bright blue letters.

He gave yet another sigh and turned to walk down the stairs. The stairway was dark and the stairs creaked sadly under each and every one of his steps. Cloud turned the corner and stepping down one more wooden step before skipping over the last two steps like he had done almost every day for the past fifteen years of his life.

The whole first floor was dark. To the left of the stairs the cabinets, couch, bookshelf, small tables with lamps and knick knacks upon their surfaces all sat as great silhouetted figures against the white walls that had managed to take on a deep dark gray appearance to match the dark and dreary morning, blending into the shadowy world.

To his right, the kitchen took on a lighter gray appearance with all the objects obtaining a higher level of detail from the minimal light that filtered in through the window in the kitchen. Everything was so still, serene, and…dark. No candles were lit, no human figure sat up on the couch or in one of the chairs, no human shape floating gently by the door or in front of the kitchen sink. There was no motherly figure anywhere waiting to say her final farewells to her beloved son.

On the kitchen table Cloud noticed a small box like shape with a square sheet of white placed carefully on top. Cloud crossed the room, his footsteps echoing lightly in the silent room and picked up the white sheet. It crinkled softly in his hand and he flipped it open revealing dark black letters scrawled neatly across its surface.

"_Forgive me for not being up to see you off Cloud dear, but I think we both know it might be easier for us if I don't. It's just so hard to fully accept how grown up you have become and how fast you've done it. I always thought that I would have a few more years to coddle you and call you my little boy, but it seems that chapter of our lives came to a close some time ago._

_I won't tell you that I think you are completely ready for this, but all mothers struggle to let their little ones go. And a mother telling their baby "I think your ready" is part of letting that baby go, making those few words so difficult to admit._

_You must understand that I am proud of you. You have a dream and you are leaving home on your own two feet to chase after it. In this alone you are showing such courage and maturity .With all these things said I want you to remember to look after your self. I wont be there too look after you anymore. Remember to listen to your superiors and…just do the best you can. I know you will do well._

_Love,_

_Mom_

_p.s. I made you a breakfast. I knew you wouldn't get up with enough time to make yourself something. _

Cloud folded the letter back over and pulled the lid off the small box. His mom had indeed made him a box breakfast. "Its times like these I realize you really do know me mom", Cloud whispered to himself as he put the lid back on his breakfast.

He stuffed the letter into his pocket and headed for the door pausing momentarily with his hand on the brass handle choking back a sudden sob. It had finally hit him. He was leaving and he wasn't going to come back for a long time. Hell, he didn't know when or if he would come back. He was leaving his home where he was born and raised, his mother whom he had not been away from for more than a month at most, his friends he had practically known since he was a toddler, and Nibelheim behind for even the life stream didn't know how long.

He took a deep controlling breath and pulled on the door handle, turning back the final barrier between him and the world. He exited quietly, the sob successfully subdued and composure redrawn, closing the door behind him with a soft click and made his way to the front of town.

There he sat a solemn pale figure amidst a world of gray and morning chill. Head downcast, feet pushed out ahead of him, arms folded across his chest, and pale eyes drawn shut as he thought back over years of memories in Nibelheim.

No one came to see the lone boy off on his great journey, but not because they didn't care. Cloud had told people upon returning from Midgar that he would be leaving in around two months to join the military, but he had purposely failed to inform them of the exact date he would be departing. If people asked the exact date he would change the subject or tell them he couldn't remember right off the top of his head. He had asked his mother not to tell anyone the exact date either, but of course she had told a few of her closest friends anyway, who promised not to tell everyone else.

In Cloud's opinion it was easier this way. There would be no tearful goodbyes or anything and there wouldn't be a group of people trying to hug him and give him a final farewell as he was trying to climb on to the transport. Of course, there were more than a few people that Cloud knew wouldn't be happy about him just up and leaving, but he figured they would understand his reasoning. Besides, he could always write them an apology once he got to Midgar.

Of course, people had caught on to the fact Cloud was avoiding giving them the exact day. So as the end of two months drew near, people had begun to say there goodbyes. It was funny in a way, since some of the goodbyes came a weak early. The person would say farewell one evening only to continue seeing Cloud for a few days to come.

There were also those that didn't realize how perfect their timing was. A few souls had actually approached Cloud only yesterday to tell him goodbye and good luck, and they would find out later today that their timing couldn't have been better.

Although people suspected the day of his departure was close, no one had figured it out completely. So, Cloud sat alone, waiting for the transport to arrive and carry him away to his new life.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cloud heaved a depressed sigh. It really did feel like only yester day that he had left home. Then again it had only been about a year and in the grand scheme of things, leaving home really wasn't all that long ago. But still, a year away from home when you had never been away for more than month was a long time in its own right.

After a year of being away, one really begins to miss a few things. Cloud was beginning to realize yet again just how much he missed Nibelheim. He missed his mom, his friends, the nice lady who lived next door, Mr. Wallis, the storeowner, who used to give him his favorite candy or a few coins if he helped him with chores around the shop, the neighbor's funny fat cat, his view of the town and mountains from his room…

Right then a loud whoop and the shuddering bang of the door crashed into Cloud's thoughts. 'Forget the view from my room. I miss _having_ my own room', Cloud added after throwing an arm over his face and clutching his chest with the opposite hand.

"Damn Cloud! I can't believe you didn't go out again this fine Friday evening", his loud and rambunctious roommate hollered as he jumped back on the next bed over.

"I mean come on! Me and some of the other guys had a hell of a time and this nice little bar not far from this place. It was one hell of a good time. You could just sit back relax, get a drink, dance, and not listen to a bunch of damn orders being barked at ya.

I know you're not about walking on the wild side, but I think you would have enjoyed this place too. It was good music and the girls where nice so it wasn't hard finding one that would dance with ya. And it wasn't like every fool there was a slobbering drunk bastard you know", the tanned spiky brown haired man started his description.

"In all honesty the best thing about it all was the fact that there weren't any drill instructors or on the clock officers breathing down your neck. I mean, I really think you could go for some r and r you know.

It can't be good for you just always be sticking around this place. The next thing you know, you will have gone and forgotten how to relax or not stand at attention or something. Besides a man's got to have a change in scenery every once in a while. They have to breath deep…", Cloud's roommate continued to blather on happily.

Cloud heaved probably the hundredth sigh that evening. This was going to be one of Kyle's long one-sided conversations with him. Cloud knew it, just knew Kyle was going to go on for the next hour about how great the evening was and why Cloud should join them next time.

He pulled his arm away from his face long enough to take a peak at his roommate. Kyle was flopped back spread eagle over his bed, legs from the knees down handing off the edge. He made some crazy exaggerated hand gesture and then promptly tucked his hands behind his head, mouth still moving non stop.

Was Kyle even stopping to breathe this time? It sure didn't look or sound like it. Cloud watched for a few more seconds wondering how long before the talkative guy starting turning blue until…there it was. Kyle was in fact breathing. It turned out he was just doing it so skillfully it was going undetected.

Cloud came back in on "and then he tripped because he didn't see the step down. Aw man, it was hysterical. He went tumbling right over and landed next to the chick. He completely lost all chance of possibly making a 'smooth cool approach'."

This was definitely going to be a long series of anecdotes, invites, and lists of concerns tonight. His fate officially realized and sealed, Cloud let out a groan, allowing his arm fall back over his eyes.

"…Cloud"

Cloud didn't respond he just laid face up, arm over his face, on his bed unflinching and his only movement being the necessary rise and fall of his chest.

"Cloud, you awake over there? Do you feel ok? Now that I think about it you do look a little paler than normal", Kyle began questioning becoming increasingly concerned, forgetting all about his super-fantastic-Friday-evening.

"Hey Cloud", Kyle continued, getting up from his bed and leaning over Cloud's.

"Hnn", Cloud responded, pulling his arm away from his face to look at the person who was addressing him, only to end up clutching his chest again from the fright of how close the other person had gotten without him realizing it.

The first thing Cloud had seen was Kyle's face hovering a few feet above him, dark eyebrows knit together in concern. Cloud felt all the blood drain from his face and his heart jump about three feet in his chest before it started to race from the scare. "God, I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that. You scared the hell out of me", Cloud muttered, working on slowing his breathing and his heart rate.

"Man you're really out of it tonight. If you were that tiered you should a said something and I would have shut up you know. Anyway, I can see how tiered you are and all, so I'm just gunna shut up now and let you get some rest.

Then again, I guess I'm pretty tiered too. So let's both just stop talking and get some rest", Kyle rambled cheerfully flopping back on his bed once more.

"Oh, but I guess I should go shower up before I crawl into bed. That way I don't have to stand in line for the showers or baths tomorrow morning.

You want me to turn the light out on my way out? Cause, the dark doesn't bother me really. I can find my way to me bed without them on. Well, I can now that I have learned the lay out of the room, oh, but I guess you already know that", Kyle rambled still happily as Cloud let out another groan.

Cloud knew that even though Kyle said he was going to stop talking that there was no way in any hell that he could actually manage such a feat if wasn't during training, some military function, or by orders of a superior. Unfortunately, Cloud did not outrank his roommate and therefore lacked the power to make him stop. He had tried asking nicely many times prior to this evening and none of hose times had Kyle been able to actually stop. It wasn't done intentionally, it was just Kyle couldn't help it. Kyle just lacked the strength to stop talking.

"Well anyway. See you in the morning if you're asleep by the time I get back", Kyle cheerfully imparted to Cloud before finally turning the lights off and leaving the room.

Finally, peace and quiet. Unfortunately though, Cloud had been planning to wash up before turning in for the night, but now that he knew that was where Kyle was heading, he decided it just wouldn't be worth it. A bath should be quiet and relaxing, but that was impossible with Kyle being there. So, Cloud gave up on the good bath that night and opted to just change into his sleep clothes and turn in for the night.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The next morning, like clockwork, Cloud awoke to a deep snore that came from the direction of Kyle's bed. Cloud sat up sleepily and rubbed his face yawning. There was no denying it; he was thoroughly missing having his own room.

Still groggy, he threw back his white sheets and climbed out of bed, carefully stretching each muscle as he stood. He stretched his arms high, raising himself onto the balls of his feet, and yawned deeply one more time, his whole upper body shuttering from the stretch and yawn combination.

He lazily allowed fall flat on his feet again and his arms to return lazily back to his sides. A quick shiver shot over Cloud's body. This morning was just a tad nippy after being tucked so cozily under his blankets.

Cloud left Kyle still snoring in their tiny cubby hole of a room, with a towel slung over his left shoulder and a ratty plastic bag containing his soap and what not in the other. If there was one good thing about having Kyle as a roommate, it was how he never failed to wake Cloud bright and early. True, this could be a pain, and for the first few weeks Cloud despised it. But there were actually benefits from this early wake up. One such benefit was that at the time Kyle's snore usually woke Cloud up, there were no lines for the showers or baths on this floor. So he was more than happy to take advantage of this no line business.

Cloud soaked joyfully in the hot waters of the baths. It was quiet, soothing, and, by his opinion, the best way to start the day. After he had finished washing himself and soaking, satisfied that no more amount of time spent in there could make his morning any better or his body any cleaner, Cloud pulled himself from the water and began to dry off and dress in one of the curtained off dressing rooms. Others like Cloud in their appreciation for some good quiet time had drifted in shortly after Cloud, and one or two a few later, were still lingering in the water or washing themselves by the time he exited the dressing room.

Awake, clean, and in a happier mood than he had been in all month, Cloud exited the shower house only to jump three feet back as he nearly ran into non other than his normally asleep-for-the-next-few-hours-on-the-weekend roommate, Kyle.

Heart pounding, Cloud fell backwards against the wall from the sudden shock to his system. Why was his roommate up at this hour? Better yet, why was it only Kyle that was able to sneak up on him and scare him over and over again? The later question was a mystery Cloud felt he would never solve.

'But never mind all that. Why the hell is Kyle up? He's normally dead till between ten thirty and noon on weekends', Cloud wondered staring at his roommate who was standing there staring blankly back at him as if he was still trying to determine if Cloud was another person.

Then an odd look flashed through Kyle's eyes and it was like someone had just flipped the on switch in Kyle's head. "Yo, Cloud", Kyle greeted with a grin, "an officer just stopped by the room looking for you. Weird huh?

I mean, I can't believe an officer is up looking for anybody at this early hour. You'd think they would wait until more people were up. Then again, it is the weekend so maybe they were trying to catch who they needed to before they wandered off or became harder to find…"

Kyle was taking a breath and Cloud ceased the only chance he knew he would get to interject before the talkative guy went on rambling, and it was difficult to get opportunities to get a word or a question in when Kyle was rambling. Without a moments delay Cloud interjected, "Hold on a second Kyle. What did the officer want? And am I suppose to go find him?"

Kyle stood sleepily for a few seconds as his brain processed the questions. 'This is crazy', Cloud thought to himself, 'this guy can go from practically sleep walking to wide-eyed and rambling back to practically sleep walking in a matter of seconds! I can't tell if he's fully awake or still half asleep!'

"Oh, uhhh…" Kyle muttered now finally searching his brain for an answer, "He said something about looking for you. Asked where he might find you…"

'Oh, good gods. He's more asleep then awake'

Kyle continued, "He told me if I saw you to tell you he was looking for you…"

This was getting annoying. Maybe if Cloud could stimulate some thought he would get some answers. Maybe asking questions would get things out sooner. It was worth a shot because just standing here wasn't going any where fast.

"Can you tell me who 'he' is? Because almost all the officers are men", Cloud asked rubbing the bridge of his nose on either side with his index finger and thumb.

Kyle thought hard, "No…I can't remember which officer it was. And I can't seem to remember why he was looking for you either. He said something about special training or something. Man, I hope by special he didn't mean weekend training….that would suck."

Cloud's eye twitched involuntarily. This wasn't going anywhere. His roommate was to dead asleep still to be of any help, and it would be at least three to four more hours before he would be coherent enough to remember anything of use.

"Ok, thanks Kyle. I'll look into it", Cloud sighed brushing his spiky blond bangs out his face only for them to fall right back in front of his eyes again, "Oh, and Kyle. By chance did the officer tell you to look for me or that you had to get up right now?"

Kyle shook his head sleepily, obviously falling asleep as they were talking. "Ok then. Why don't you go lay back down and get some more sleep then", Cloud smiled wearily.

Kyle only nodded stupidly as he yawned, turned around, and muttered something along the lines of "good idea".

Once Cloud saw that Kyle had made it safely back into their room, he set out for the mess hall. If he was lucky he would run into the officer there, and if he was even luckier, the mess would be serving something better than the oatmeal resembling slop. Of course, the mess hall cooks claimed it was good for them all, but Cloud swore the stuff moved on its own once. I his book, any food that was preparing to run off his plate or jump out of his bowl, was not worth eating.

He cringed as he turned the corner and the image of the first time he had ever seen the slop came rushing back to mind. He fought a slight gag reflex when he recalled the first time he actually built up the courage to put the "food" into his mouth. His body shuttered with the recollection and he began to pray that slop wasn't on the menu this morning.

Cloud ducked over to the right about halfway down the hallway into the stairwell and wandered his way down the three flights of stairs to the first floor. Each step sent loud ringing steps echoing about the stairwell, the stairs them selves vibrating from his light steps.

He exited the stairwell happy to be out of the naturally resonating tower of metal and plastered walls. "I wonder what that officer wanted with me", Cloud muttered to himself cursing Kyle and his inability to recall anything of importance at this early hour in the morning.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Late Sunday afternoon, Cloud was lying quietly on his bed enjoying the peace and silence of his cubbyhole until there was a knock on his door and his head training officer stepped in without waiting for a response. "Strife, pack your things", he barked turning to put his back against the door.

Cloud sat up slowly and stared at his commanding officer for a moment before the monstrous man barked out, "Move it Strife! You haven't got all day and I don't want to wait that long."

Scrambling in fear that his commanding officer would surely eat him if he took more than five seconds to comply with the orders, Cloud leapt up and half fell off of the end of his bed, almost slamming his head into his dresser. He hurriedly pulled all his clothes out of the drawers and stuffed them into his bag which he had he had grabbed from under the end of his bed as he moved to stand after almost falling face first.

Still in fear of his officer, Cloud quickly pulled the few photos he had pinned to the board above his dresser and tucked them away into his bag. He then dashed around his bed slamming his leg into the corner, which was common for him to do even when he wasn't rushing because of the packed layout of the room, and began pulling his tattered bag containing all his toiletries and three books from the single drawer of his night stand.

He raced back across the room and shoved the last of his things into his bag and rushed out the door past his commanding officer. Only after he had taken five steps down the hall did Cloud realize he had no idea where he was going and determined he had no choice but to wait for his frightening officer.

Other infantrymen had heard the loud man barking orders and rushing Cloud along. Many of them had stepped out of their rooms to watch as the large man slammed Cloud's door shut and harshly gestured for the small one to follow after him commanding, "Pick up the pace Strife, you now I don't like waiting."

Cloud stumbled after the large man, taking three steps for every single one of his officer's long gigantic strides. Other men standing along the monotone halls looked on with smirks as they watched Cloud pathetically follow after the man, still trying to securely tie of his pack and sling it over his shoulder.

Cloud flushed a deep red along his cheeks and over the tips of his ears. He hated this much attention. He would prefer it if all of the other men would just turn back around deciding there was nothing of interest going on, and go back into their rooms or go back to their business.

Into the stairwell, down the stairs, out of the building, and across the compound the small thin boy trailed after his huge officer. He was beginning to wonder just where the man was taking him when said man stopped dead in front of a large dark colored building.

Unfortunately, Cloud's momentum sent him slamming into the back of the muscular man earning him a fierce glare. "Watch it _boy_", the man spat back at Cloud before pointing at the doors of the dark colored building they had stopped in front of.

"Get your sorry ass in their Strife. Orientation starts in ten minutes in conference room one, and I suggest you don't be late. Good bye and good luck, not that I care, and I don't want to see your sorry ass back under my command. If I do, it means you failed, and I don't like failure", the bulky man roared at Cloud before turning and striding off down the road.

"Well that told be a whole lot", Cloud whispered to himself clinging to his bag and staring at the doors of the dark building looming before him.

"What ever. It's not like I can go back to my room or run after him…not unless I want to get kicked from here clear across Midgar at least. But…what did he mean orientation and that he didn't want to see me back because that would mean I had failed? A promotion? No, probably just an assignment or a new job or something", he wondered aloud to himself taking a few cautious steps forward.

Well, he might as well enter now, because no amount of time spent standing aimlessly about in front of a building he had never even walked by before was going to get him any answers. If he wanted answers, he was going to have to take the plunge into the unknown territory and hope for the best. So, with a deep breath Cloud threw his bag over his shoulder and staggered nervously up to the building stopping just in front of the doors to take one more calming breath.

The inside of the building was dark and cool. The floors were a dark almost black tile and the walls were a dark steely gray. Cloud looked around slowly. He was in some sort of main lobby. There were a few couches and chairs set up into square like patterns back to back just ahead of him, and there was a receptionist's desk off to his right. A simple chandelier hung from the semi-high ceiling, swaying gently from the circulation of air in the room. A set of stairs with glass sides every three side panels stretched upward to the second floor from either side of the waiting area.

After taking a few more steps, each one growing slower and slower, Cloud came to a halt a few feet from the sitting area. In awe, he continued to slowly look around taking in the sights until a soft "ah hem" sounded from behind the tall desk along the wall.

He turned searching for source of the sound to find a young man in a dark uniform standing up peering over the upper ledge of the long reception desk. "Can I help you", he asked politely, eyeing Cloud in confusion.

"Well, you see…", Cloud muttered embarrassed at not even knowing why he was here, "My…my commanding officer just led me over here and told me orientation was in ten minutes. So I guess I'm here for whatever orientation that is."

The sandy haired man raised his eyebrows in disbelief at Clouds dispassionate response concerning the orientation. "Ummm, right. Ok then, the orientation for new recruits is being held in conference room one. You can find it if you head out those doors right there", the man explained pointing at a set of glass double doors on the far side of the sitting area, "and entering the building directly across the court yard. The doors leading into conference room one should be open so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it. Room assignments will be given out to those who haven't received a room yet after the meeting. If you get lost…somehow…feel free to come back here and I'll help you find it."

Cloud nodded in gratitude for the assistance and started for the doors the man had pointed to. "Waite, new recruits? What kind of orientation is this", Cloud questioned the man, not entirely sure he was being sent to the right meeting.

The male receptionist stared at Cloud in disbelief before answering with, "You don't know what the orientation if for or why you are here?"

The young blond man shook his head turning pink from embarrassment. "Sweet mako", the receptionist muttered before continuing, "Let's just say you are entering a highly prestigious and elite group of soldiers. At least you've made it in the door as a candidate."

Once the man was done he sat back down in his chair shaking his head at how little this blond boy standing in front of him was clued in on. He started organizing some paper work he had been given to do when it occurred to him that maybe this boy was in the wrong place.

He stood back up to speak with the boy, but the boy had already made it to the double doors on the far side of the atrium. Whatever the case was, it was too late now for him to do anything. If the little blond was in the wrong place he would find out at the doors of conference room one.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Curious, confused, and awkward feeling, Cloud wandered across the court yard, careful to stay on the paved paths in case some crazed gardener happened to be in the area that would kill him if he so much as ruined a petal on one of the delicate little flowers.

The flower beds were intricately planted with trees, small shrub like grasses and bushes, and flowers. In fact, the flower beds gave the large court yard an almost forest like feel to it. Any more trees and Cloud was positive he would think he was in an actual forest.

Through the carefully spaced healthy trees, he could see two dark buildings standing tall on both sides of the court yard and in front of him he could make out another dark building that he could tell was more…oddly shaped than the others once he drew closer to it.

It was clear that the side of the building he was approaching was only a single story high with a little extra head room to make a high ceiling, where as further back the building became two stories. It was also clear that he was entering the smaller section of the building. For further back, Cloud noticed the building expanded becoming larger.

As he approached the metal framed glass doors leading into the building he could tell the court yard continued past the building and he wondered if maybe there was more to this place. If that was the case, then this place was like its own miniature compound within Shinra's main military compound. What was this place?

'Oh shit, the meeting. I had ten minutes when I first got here; I have to almost be out of time by now. I've got to pick up the pace or I'm gunna be late', Cloud cried in his head after reality came crashing into his little world of thought.

Cloud quickly readjusted his bag on his shoulder and swung the door open, the words of his officer echoing in his head. "I suggest you aren't late." He cringed as the words continued to bounce around in his numbing head. What was with him? This wasn't like him at all. He had always made it a point to be prompt and composed, and ever since his commanding officer had come crashing into his room shattering the silence, he had been anything but.

Who ever was going to get a first impression of Cloud to day was not going to get the best one he could possibly give them. Cloud shook his head as he looked up and down the hall. He could still pull himself together and save face. It wasn't too late for that.

Late. He was going to be late for the orientation he didn't even know what it was about. The man at the front desk had said that the doors to conference room one should be open, so where were they?

Cloud looked up and down the long open passage he had walked into one more time. Not a single one of the doors was open. He couldn't be in the wrong building, he had followed the directions exactly, and there wasn't time to go back and ask for help.

He decided to trot down the passage to left. Maybe the doors were down one of side halls. Before he could make it to end of the passage, however, one of the gray doors slid open and a man in a dark blue almost black uniform stepped out in the hall.

Cloud moved to open his mouth but before he could even fit in a single syllable, much less the sound of a single letter, the man more stated than asked, "You're here for the candidate meeting aren't you."

Cloud nodded turning a little pink across the tips of his ears once more. The man sighed and waved for Cloud to come into the room the man was exiting. "In here then. You're a little late but you're lucky because they almost never start these things on time."

Embarrassment took its toll on Cloud's pale face and he could feel the heat gathering on the back of his neck. Despite his best last ditch effort to make it on time he had still wound up being late. Head titled down so he could avoid making eye contact with the man Cloud squeezed by, careful not to so mush as brush against him, muttering a quick thanks.

A swoosh and click signaled the closing of the door behind Cloud. The room's overhead lights were turned up to brighten the room. The metallic walls reflected the light back in towards the center increasing the intensity of the lighting.

It was loosely packed but getting warm all ready, and Cloud was certain adding his body to the count wasn't going to help in any way. The crowd of recruits all buzzed with conversation and the total effect was somewhat louder than Cloud personally liked. Why couldn't more of them be sitting quietly?

Wait sitting? Cloud looked around again as he continued to edge along the back wall towards the far side. There weren't any chairs. The options were to either stand or have a seat on the ground. Hopefully this wasn't going to be a long meeting.

Looking around this second time made something else painfully clear to Cloud besides there being no chairs. He had to be the youngest one in there, and that couldn't be a good thing. It didn't matter what he was here for, being the youngest was never good especially if everyone in here had the title of "recruit".

Being the youngest recruit got you heat that Cloud would rather not deal with. The others would look at him and see a child or someone incapable. Even if he had what it took to be there, they would tease him and make fun of him, turning him into their wiping boy and personal source of entertainment. What was worse, if he excelled he would get even worse heat. No older person ever liked it when some person younger than them shows them up.

But then again, maybe it wouldn't be like that. Maybe that was only how it was in the general ranks when one first joined Shinra. Maybe the worry about his age was for nothing.

Cloud let out a relieved sigh as he fell back against the wall near the far back corer of conference room one. He slid down the length of the wall until he sat, knees tucked up in front of him on the floor. 'I'm getting myself worked up over nothing. Heck, I barely got anything for being so young when I first joined Shinra a year ago. I had a few problems with some of the boys closest to my age, but it wasn't all that bad and that stopped pretty quickly', Cloud reassured himself.

'I just need to get a hold of myself and get back to normal. Damn, who knew having the commander come barging in like that would mess me up so badly', he thought breathing deep and closing his eyes, 'I really thought that after all this time under his command I would have gotten use to him. I got to the point where he didn't rattle me up a few months ago, so why did it bother me this time? Ah, no matter. It's over and done with and I'm clamed down now so it makes absolutely no difference now.'

He reopened his eyes and let the pale orbs survey the occupants of the room to pass the time. Another observation came to light. He was probably the scrawniest and palest looking one in there. Well, that much wasn't all that new. Cloud had always been one of the ones with the smallest build, the more slender figure, and the paler complexion. Why would that fact be any different here?

He smirked and rested his head against the wall. The man on the way out hadn't been kidding. The officials were most certainly not starting this meeting on time. That fact proving true, Cloud concluded that he didn't have to worry about that bad impression after all. It turned out that it was the officials making the bad first impression. Then again, if this was still something to do with the military, then the not being on time thing should have been expected because nothing ever started on time in the military.

A door sliding open next to Cloud caused him to jump and almost fall over sideways. He hadn't even noticed the door being there. Better yet, had he decided to sit down one or two feet sooner than he had along the back wall he would have been sitting directly in front of the magically appearing door, and how embarrassing would that have been if the first thing he had done was fall backwards because he had taken a seat leaning against a door he didn't even notice.

Cloud felt the blood drain from his face as he realized who all was walking into the room. The first through the door was Director Lazard, the one and only director of SOLDIER, followed by two unnamed men, one of which had told Cloud to come on in earlier, dressed in what Cloud now recalled as being SOLDIER uniforms.

Next in came some man in a modified version of a SOLDIER First Class uniform. He wore the normal uniform with a long dark blue trench coat over top, and insignias composed of a small silver sword with a silver star on each side of it were pinned on each of his shoulders serving as some sort rank insignia. Off of his right shoulder was looped a deep scarlet red cord that was braided decoratively. Whoever he was, he had to be important.

Next and last came a tall pale man with flowing silvery white hair that reached past his waste. The tall man wore black leather pants with a leather strap stretching up from his hip to the opposite shoulder on both sides forming an x across his chest. Over top of this, the tall warrior, which Cloud just knew he was, he wore a long leather trench coat buttoned up half way leaving his formed chest exposed, his shoulders capped with light metal shoulder pads.

As Cloud watched the entourage make there way to front of the room, Cloud couldn't shake the feeling that he knew the final man that had entered. Once all the men had made it up on to a platform at the front of the room, which Cloud hadn't realized was there originally because he was too short to see over the other recruits, the name of the final man came crashing down inside Cloud's head. That last man was none other than Sephiroth, one of the most widely known members of SOLDIER and a hero in the hearts of many. It was Sephiroth, the man that embodied some of the very things Cloud himself hoped to achieve.

Cloud climbed to his feet to get a better view of the officials standing on the platform. Sephiroth and the "important man", as Cloud had temporarily named him, were both now sitting in chairs in opposite ends of the platform. Up front and center stood Director Lazard, his shoulders pulled back, hands held professionally behind him, and chin raised high. His very demeanor indicated grace, intelligence, and above all confidence.

Off to both sides and back a few paces, the two unnamed SOLDIER operative stood at ease, eyes dead ahead. Taking in the whole scene was breath taking in its own right. As Director Lazard looked out over the candidates Cloud was struck by a strong and over bearing epiphany. He was sitting in a room full or recruits, as a recruit, and the officials conducting the meeting all had something to do with SOLDIER. This could only mean he was now a SOLDIER candidate.

His head spun as he came to terms with the idea, and he felt himself rock back on his feet. Head getting lighter by the second, the blond pressed his back against the wall for support. This was all certainly one big surprise. A small surge of anger grew inside the back of the young pale man's fuzzy mind. 'Would it have killed anyone to tell me I was becoming a SOLDIER candidate', he screamed internally.

A slight wave of nausea crept over the young man and he clenched his eyes shut, fighting to regain composure. This was certainly not what he had imagined his reaction at becoming a candidate would be. He had always pictured heart pumping in thrill at the chance to join the elite group. He had imagined standing tall, shoulders back, a smirk planted firmly across his lips because he had finally made in the door and one step closer to fulfilling his dream.

Deep breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth. The pale man repeated this a few more times and control and composure came rushing back to him. He stood back up strait and crossed his arms casually across his chest, eyes set and focused on the current speaker, Director Lazard. Now this was the real him.

Unfortunately, he had regained his true self just a little too late. Director Lazard finished speaking and stepped back and to the side as the "important man" stepped forward to take his place. The Director took a seat and the important man took a good long look around.

Finally the man narrowed his cold shadowy green eyes and gave a malicious smirk at all the candidates. He ran a massive hand through heavy brown chestnut hair that reached down past his shoulders and looked combed back to keep it out of his face. Now that Cloud thought about it, the man looked massive. He had large broad shoulders and heavily developed and honed muscles that tensed and rippled with each carefully planned and executed movement.

"Congratulations", the man glowered mockingly, "You have all made it in the door as candidates. Some of you came almost directly here like you signed up because you were able to demonstrate you already posse some skill and training. Others of you have been sent up from the general ranks of Shinra's many _lesser_ divisions because you showed a little talent. None of this means a god damn thing to me and I couldn't care less how you made it here.

In my eyes you are all only lowly candidates that can be sent packing at any time I choose. Allow me to explain what I mean by this along with the process you will all be put through.

You are candidates. You have not been guarantied entrance to SOLDIER. Before you can become a member of SOLDIER you must pass all examination to a satisfactory level. Fail to do so and you will be sent packing.

If I or another trainer and evaluator feel you will not make the cut, don't have what it takes, or are not meeting expectations you will be sent packing. Don't bother arguing this decision. Once you have been told to beat it, you better beat it. If you choose not to, you will be personally _escorted_ out of this facility, and you don't want that."

The burley man paused and scanned the room with his cold eyes once more. The room was packed full of ripe possibilities and it was going to be his lovely job to weed through them and find the select few who really were worthy to call themselves a member of SOLDIER. A second malicious smirk spread over his lips. This was going to be a good run, he could already tell just by looking around the room.

"That aside", he boomed sounding two steps kinder for all of five seconds, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is irrelevant. You will address me as Commander Guile, and let me make this clear now. I am not here to be your friend or your mentor. I am here to drive you hard so that I and the other evaluators can weed out who doesn't belong.

You're _training_ starts tomorrow, and I promise you, the number at the end of the day tomorrow will be lower than the number in this room right now.

My one piece of advice that I will give you as a candidate…rest well tonight because I promise you're not going to get much good rest after tonight. Take this golden opportunity and use it. If you don't then fine. I'll just get to watch you suffer all that much more.

Now get out of here. If you don't have a room assignment yet, find an operative outside the conference room and they should be able to tell you what room is yours. If you don't know where you're going too bad. Follow the others and hope to hell they aren't lost too."

With everything said and done, Commander Guile gave a strong wave of his hand to dismiss the candidates from the meeting. As they all began filing out through the two doors, Commander Guile turned slowly on his heel giving a deep chuckle and then added, "Oh by the way. Getting through my portion of the elimination process isn't the only thing you have to worry about."

All the candidates froze. What else could there be besides getting through the training and final skills evaluation, which all seemed to fall under this brute Guile? As if reading there minds, Guile gave another hearty chuckle before expanding, "Once you make it through my elimination process you have to make it through mako exposure, which is not pleasant in the least. But don't worry. They run a test first. If you aren't compatible then we kick you out before you have to under go it."

Commander Guile turned on his heel and marched off the platform and in the direction of the back door he had entered through. The candidates all scrambled to get out of his way afraid that failure to move would earn them the words "get outta here".

Cloud was still standing back by the door which all the officials had entered in. He didn't see the point in trying to get out of the room right away. After all, there were only two doors and way too many candidates to fit through all at once, so it didn't matter if he walked over to the doors to stand in the pack or if he stayed put. He wasn't going to get out any faster.

The last few candidates hurried out of the great brute's way and the large man came striding up to the door. Before exiting he stopped and glared over at the scrawny blond boy who didn't seem to find it necessary to flee from his presence. 'Go ahead, take it in. I'm not going to cower away from you', Cloud challenged silently.

"You got a problem boy", spat the young man's new commanding officer.

"No, no problem sir", Cloud responded coolly to the towering giant standing only feet from him.

Cold green eyes narrowed as the great man eyed the pale boy carefully. He forced himself to grow a few more inches by drawing himself up to his full height and puffed out his chest just a little further to up his intimidation factor. When the weak looking boy didn't flinch he gave another nasty glare and strode from the room.

"Wow, I didn't know you could find worse than my first commander. Maybe they're related", Cloud muttered not realizing that the Director and Sephiroth were passing by at that exact moment.

He looked up just in time to see Director Lazard disappear through the door. As Sephiroth came even with Cloud, he shot the young one a quick look and smirk that seemed to say "I like your style kid" before he too vanished through the door. The same second Sephiroth's coat tails made it through the door frame; the metal doors slid shut with a whoosh and click as it locked in place.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A dark haired young man bounced back and fourth clutching a packet containing all of the room assignments for every last candidate whether they where already supposed to have been told their room or not.

The youth released a frustrated sigh as he threw his hand into the air to stretch out his back. A series of pops and cracks sounded out down his back and he let his arms fall to his side, content that he had gotten every last pop he could possibly get.

Sadly, this stretch failed to consume enough time so the youth began to fidget and bounce once more. A flash of light danced through his abnormally blue eyes signaling another idea concerning how he could burn time. Eager for time to fly by he implemented it immediately.

Within seconds, the youth was doing squat after squat after squat. He swung his arms to build momentum as he dropped creating a pendulum effect of motion that aided him as he came back up. After doing a set of about ten, the youth paused to stretch, and then started up again.

"Zack, for the love all that lives, could you possibly hold still for more than ten minutes", cried a SOLDIER second class leaning against the wall just a few feet down from the youth.

Zack gave the man a goofy grin. "Oh you know I would die if I held still that long Kunsel. Besides, I'm bored and what's wrong in working off boredom with a little bit of exercise huh? Come on tell me", Zack whined playfully.

Kunsel rolled his eyes and hit his head against the wall behind him. "Because you're making me tiered odd ball", the older man complained before continuing, and cutting off Zack, in a more serious tone, "And for a reason you can't easily argue, they will be releasing the candidates any minute now, and if they walk out to someone like you acting all weird it'll give the wrong impression."

The dark haired youth gave his friend an annoyed look before leaning back against the wall and folding his arms across his chest. It would be odd for the candidates to come out to him acting hyper, he would give Kunsel that much. Plus, if the candidates were going to be released any minute, Zack needed to be ready.

Ready mentally that is. He wasn't going to have any problem keeping up physically with checking room numbers and answering questions. The problem was going to be in answering the same questions fifty times and putting up with five people trying to get his attention all at once. So, Zack focused on getting in the right mindset.

The doors opened and the hum of many voices spilled out of the room into the front passage way. The sudden out break sent Zack slipping down the wall a few inches, startled from the volume change of zero to fifty in a matter of seconds.

'And 3…2…1', Zack counted down.

Commander Guile's booming voice surged over the crowd adding, "Oh by the way. Getting through my portion of the elimination process isn't the only thing you have to worry about."

All the candidates froze and Zack smirked laughing quietly to himself. The commander's voice came rolling out of the room once more and this time Zack mouthed along with him, "Once you make it through my elimination process you have to make it through mako exposure which is not pleasant in the least. But don't worry. They run a test first. If you aren't compatible then we kick you out before you have to under go it."

Zack shook his head as soon as the last words echoed out of the room and died out in the large passageway. That man was still using the same old speech, and the youth had to admit it was getting a little old and had lost its touch some time ago. On second thought, the people the man gave the speech too hadn't heard it fifty times so it was probably still fairly effective. Otherwise, the man wouldn't be using it.

The candidates filed out of the room in waves, swarming Zack, Kunsel, and the two other SOLDIER members standing ready to direct the chaos. Zack ripped through the packet as fast as he could whenever someone inquired as to where they were staying, and tried his best to give directions to another person who didn't know how to get where they were going at the same time.

Once or twice Zack was ready to strangle a person who just didn't seem to be listening. They would ask, he would answer, and they would ask again. Annoyed he would answer them again. Unfortunately this process could be carried out more than several times before the directions finally made it through, or the answer was registered, and the person moved on.

Zack had no problems with novices, not in the least. Not all that long ago he had been bestowed the opportunity to help with a training session and it had gone fairly well. What Zack couldn't stand was this chaos.

Fearing his breaking limit was fast approaching, since this wasn't his "kind of thing", Zack slipped further and further away from the doors, attracting fewer and fewer candidates waiting for a SOLDIER operative to be free long enough for them to swoop in.

He finally made it to within feet of corner practically putting him self out of direct range of all the little lost kittens coming up to the lions for help and guidance. The spiky haired youth smirked triumphantly as he dealt with only one or two "little kittens" at a time while Kunsel and the others continued to get swarmed.

'Hey, I think this is a new time record for me', Zack mused thinking for a moment, 'Yup, I'm pretty sure it is. This has got to be the fastest I have ever managed to get to the outskirts of this kind of mess.'

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cloud exited the room, keeping his eyes down. If he could avoid eye contact then he would, because everything always seemed to go better if he didn't make eye contact. He cleared the majority of the clamoring mess and raised his head long enough to get a good look around.

There were three operatives close to the doors working feverishly to keep up with all the candidates throwing themselves in to ask for assistance. Cloud sighed realizing that it was going to be a bit, because he wasn't about to throw himself into the middle of the chaos. It was too loud, too crowded, and just too plain easy to avoid. Mind made up, he settled into his spot, arms folded easily over his chest, and eyes closed listening for the dramatic drop in noise.

What felt like an eternity ticked by and the blond youth opened his eyes to survey the scene. There was no way all that much time had elapsed. It was practically the same as when he first closed his eyes.

Eventually, the crowd thinned and the noise level died down and the blond was able to relax a little more finding the environment more tolerable. He opened his eyes again and surveyed the lessened chaos.

The three operatives were still fairly busy and there were still more people crowded around them then he would like to come in close quarters with. Any crowd size he didn't like, if he could avoid it, he would. And right now, he could.

Then out of the corner of his eye, Cloud noticed a spiky black haired operative leaning idly against the wall down the passageway near the far corner with a packet held loosely at his side. There was no crowd, no fuss, and a man that held the information the blond needed to know. This was a no brainer situation, and Cloud leapt at his fortunate opportunity.

The blond wandered casually down the passageway keeping is head down and his arms folded across his chest. When he reached within ear shot of the young man he could hear the operative humming softly to himself to better pass the time. Silently, Cloud wandered up to the black haired operative and attempted to get the man's attention.

He cleared his throat. No effect. He gave a light cough. No effect. He muttered an "excuse me" No effect. This wasn't getting any where. This guy was in his own little world and by the looks of it… nothing was going to get through to him. Maybe this was why no one else was bothering him. Maybe they had all already tried but were unable to get through.

The blond took a deep breath and tried again, this time speaking a little louder. "Excuse me", Cloud repeated.

The spiky haired one flinched and opened his eyes. "Hey there", he greeted Cloud with a grin, "What can I do for you blonde?"

After a quick breath Cloud answered, "I need to get my room assignment. Please tell me that you have a copy of the room assignments in your hand."

Waving the packet, the black haired man gave a nod and another smile. Before, the man could ask Cloud answered, "Cloud Strife."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Zack nodded giving the younger man a quick thumbs up as he started scanning down the pages of the packet. It would have been so much easier to do this job if they had made the lists in alphabetical order by last name instead of by room number, but such was life. So Zack trooped on trying to find the young man's name somewhere in the list.

He glanced up and took a good look at the other youth, quickly looking back down when the other bothered to glance up at him to check his progress. "Names Zack Fair", Zack established light heartily, confusing the other youth for a few seconds.

Zack managed to glance up and catch the momentary look of confusion captured on Cloud's face and laughed. The expression was both funny and…cute. Now that Zack thought about it, this guy was actually pretty attractive.

His own thoughts startling him, Zack quickly dropped the thought process and returned to how he had managed to confuse someone by introducing himself. "Guess you weren't expecting anyone to introduce themselves to you, huh", Zack laughed still searching through the pages all the sudden feeling the urge to slow his search so he could talk longer with the delicate younger man standing in front of him.

Cloud shook his head. "Not particularly, no. Especially not a SOLDIER operative", Cloud confessed quietly.

"I see", Zack nodded pausing momentarily because he thought he had spotted Cloud's name but it had been a false alarm, "well, lesson number one then. Always expect the unexpected."

Cloud looked at Zack in disbelief. Was a current member of SOLDIER actually giving him pointers? Even if the pointer was supposed to be more of a joke, was he actually trying to be friendly? For some reason Cloud had figured no SOLDIER operative was going to bother even trying to make so much as small talk with him, but here was one trying to converse fully with him.

"Lesson number two, relax", Zack piped up again seeing the confusion return to Cloud's pale and beautiful face, "because you never now when things are actually going to get rough. You always need to relax when you can. It makes your life that much easier."

Cloud looked up and nodded at the slightly older man and muttered his thanks. Zack just flashed a brief smile and continued flipping through the pages. There on the fourth page, which Zack had already scanned twice, was the name Cloud Strife.

"Ok, here we go. Cloud my friend, you are in room 314, and it looks like that's one of the bigger rooms. You have five roommates", Zack informed Cloud in a mock serious tone.

The little bit of silliness in Zack's voice was enough to coax a smile out of Cloud. Zack felt himself release his breath slowly as if it had just been caught in his chest when he looked up to see the weak but satisfying expression on the blonde's face.

"Hey, it looks like the others have things under control, so I can help you find your room", Zack offered hopefully.

Cloud shrunk back for a moment. He hadn't been expecting anyone to offer help especially after the way Commander Guile spoke. Well, this black spiky haired man by the name of Zack had already shattered one expectation, so what would keep him from shattering more like it?

"It really wouldn't be a problem you know, because I really do think the others have everything else under control. Besides you can see how no one else besides you even bothered to come up to me", Zack reasoned with Cloud.

A response died just before it passed through Cloud's lips. His lips moved, but no words came out. Cloud flushed lightly. That was odd. He hadn't had the problem of losing the ability to speak in months. Why would it start now? Why, out of the blue, would he lose the ability to respond to someone, especially when that someone was being so nice?

Zack watched as the blonde's lips moved but no audible words accompanied the motion. He watched as the other youth flushed and looked down. Heat crept up the back of his neck, and he felt as if he too had momentarily lost his voice.

But that moment was short and Zack soon found his words again. "Come on, I'll help you find your room. And don't be embarrassed about accepting help. You know…lesson number three, accept help when you can. Help is nothing to be ashamed of. It isn't often you can get it, and even rarer to have it offered", Zack explained with a smile.

With lesson number three out of the way, although no lessons had been planned what so ever, Zack turned and motioned for Cloud to follow. When Cloud didn't move Zack took a few steps backwards to come within arms reach of the younger youth, taking hold of the youth's sleeve and giving it a firm tug.

Startled by the sudden contact, Cloud looked up, his eyes making full and complete contact with Zack's. Pale blue and a deep vibrant blue locked together, and the two stared back at one another unable to move or speak.

Finally, Zack found the power to give another quick tug and use his voice. "Come on, your going to want all the resting time you can get before tomorrow, and the sooner you get to your room the more rest you'll get", Zack coaxed quietly, quieter than he had intended to.

Zack's last bit of coaxing did the trick, and Cloud finally started walking in the direction Zack had moments earlier.

Upon exiting the building Zack looked over at Cloud and declared, "I don't think I finished welcoming you yet. So here it goes. Welcome to hell!"

"Welcome to hell", Cloud repeated questioningly.

Zack shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I know it doesn't sound like much of a greeting, but I mean well. Just let me explain, ok? The life of a candidate isn't so great, and a lot of times it gets pretty rough. I remember when I went through it that I thought the closest thing to the experience must be hell itself. So, welcome to hell."

Cloud could only stair at the black haired youth as they continued to walk through the forested courtyard. A faint smile played across his lips and he returned, "Glad to be here, and I plan to stay."

A wide smile cracked across Zack's face. He could get use to having this quiet little one around.

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**A/N: **For those of you who actually made it to the end of chapter one, and read it through beginning to end, I hope you enjoyed and congrats. (I really didn't expect to make this chapter this long, but oh well. What happens, happens. Right?)

Please review. Tell me what you thought, what you liked, what you didn't like. Constructive criticism is also more than welcomed.

Hopefully I'll have chapter two up in no more than a couple weeks, but I can't make any guarantees, with the semester winding down and all along with another story currently still in progress. In the mean time, happy reading everybody!!


	2. Ch 2: Elimination Round One

**A/N: **Hahaha. You can't say I never gave you anything because I have just now! I am giving you chapter 2 along with more leaps and strides towards the yaoi we all know and love!

Of course…you probably would have like it if I got it to you on time…Sorry EvilChinchila. I would have had it posted by Monday, Tuesday at the latest, if I hadn't caught this horrendous virus. You see this virus wasn't the flue or strep throat, I know this for sure because I went to the doctor, but I'll tell you now the stupid thing made me feel like I had some sick combination of both. (I hurt so much by noon when my painkillers wore off that I started crying. It was so bad I ended up calling the doctor that very first day because I didn't think I could wait to see how I felt the next day.)

So yea…I was so muddle headed I couldn't write all weekend even though I wanted to. And if I had tried, I'm pretty sure it would have amounted to this… "Duck"…

Aren't you glad I waited XD? Anyway, on to the story

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, Final Fantasy 7 and Crisis Core are not mine. This sadly means no good yaoi scenes in the amazing graphics of Crisis Core T_T.

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Ch. 2. Elimination, Round One

Zack and Cloud entered the building that had been on Cloud's left when he had been somewhat mindlessly wandering in the general direction of the meeting only an hour earlier. The pair was greeted by a crazed jumble of voices belonging to the close to hundreds of candidates lingering in the front hall of the barracks that had been fitted to double as a common room and lounge. Off to the right was a pair of double doors leading to a better suited sitting area and the intended location for any mass gatherings on this level. If one didn't enter the room, they could walk down a large hallway reaching further back into the building. To the left, the entry hall narrowed into a broad hallway spotted with chairs, couches, and low tables allowing for more sitting space, and, as Zack had learned over the years, the passageway created an excellent spot for various groups and people to meet up for assignments and what not.

Directly across the entry way was a small alcove containing two metallic elevator doors, the black screens above them indicating that both elevators were in use by flashing the elevators current floor location in bright red numbers. Two or three small groups of candidates lingered in the alcove waiting patently for the elevators to return for the next load of people. These men were some of the few that were more intent on finding their rooms than standing around socializing, which Zack thought was the wiser thing to be doing.

The majority of the loitering candidates packed the entryway, turning the place into a living maze that was constantly shifting and changing. Determined to make good on his offer to get the blond to his room, Zack plunged into the maze working as hard as possible to start making his way in the direction of the large hallway to the right of the elevator alcove and along the wall with the doors leading into the lounge.

While finding their way through the mess of bodies, Zack was unable to maintain his idle conversation with the blond in is wake because of the insane noise level the groups of candidates were able to generate. The dark haired soldier cringed in pain as a candidate within feet of him burst out in unrestrained laughter.

Growing desperate to get out of the sea of men, Zack picked up the pace, slowing down only when he realized he was leaving the blond behind. He paused and looked back searching for any sign of the blond spiky hair that helped set Cloud apart from the others.

'This is a pain. It looks like the majority of these guys are standing around for fun. Why don't they do this in one of the common rooms? Oh, wait. They probably don't know where those are quite yet…well, they could at least use the lounge instead of crowding the whole entryway', Zack whined more annoyed than anything, scratching the back of his head.

Within moments the SOLDIER operative spotted the particular candidate he was searching for. Cloud was only feet from him but struggling to make his way through the men. No matter what the young man tried, he just couldn't seem to get through. In fact, the young blond even began trying to force his way through two other candidates immersed in meaningless conversation.

Cloud pushed shoulder first into the smaller of the two men most immediately blocking his way, attempting to break through the living barricade, but to no avail. As the blond began to squeeze by the men, another candidate took a step backwards bumping directly into the extremely light weight blond and sent him stumbling backwards.

The SOLDIER operative watched for a few moments with an amused smile. Something about the blond was just too cute right then. His face was set and determined, but a careful analysis of his actions revealed his fear of using too much force. 'Determined and ready to do what it takes, but is too scared to force his way through a crowd huh? That or maybe he really is the embodiment of the light weight body type', Zack mused to him self with a smile.

Feeling guilty that he hadn't tried to help Cloud sooner, Zack reached through the crowd and grabbed hold of Cloud's wrist. "Excuse me", Zack half apologized at the last second as he tugged the blond man through the crowd.

With Cloud now literally in tow, Zack continued to make his way through the sea of candidates. Unlike the small blond man, he had no trouble making his way through the crowd. Candidates would look up, register that the dark haired man was wearing a SOLDIER uniform, and would quickly grant him passage.

At first, the candidates' eyes fell on the SOLDIER operative alone. But as the SOLDIER passed, eyes fell on both the operative and the candidate he was pulling along. Quickly, many of the looks turned from investigative to confusion, while others gained a far darker expression. Why was a SOLDIER second class leading a boy, who was probably the baby of the group, by the wrist through the crowds?

As the pair passed, eyes trailed after them. Some of the owners of these trailing eyes watched rather openly with no attempts to hide the fact that they were technically staring, while others followed the two more covertly through careful glances out of the corners of their eyes. Voices died off as some allowed their confusion at the odd sight get the better of them.

Out of the blue, a tall muscular candidate made it a point to "accidently" step back and ram right into Cloud. The man hadn't taken notice Zack or the fact that there was a SOLDIER operative at all. All he had seen was the petite frail looking boy he had seen slumped against the back wall during the meeting earlier, and he had determined that it would be fun to kick the little brat around a bit. Besides, the brat didn't look like he could make it so why not help it in its decision to leave sooner rather than later.

Sudden impact with a hard solid object brought Cloud to a hard stop. His sudden stop and Zack's perpetual motion wrenched Cloud's shoulder painfully.

Cloud's short stop brought Zack to an unexpected and jerky halt. The black haired man glanced back over his shoulder to investigate the hold up. Cloud had bounced off a rather large looking candidate that clearly wasn't lacking muscle. Guilt momentarily crept over Zack, and he released Cloud's wrist, wondering if it was his fault the youth had collided with large man.

The large candidate looked back over his shoulder with a growl. "Watch it pip-squeak or you'll get hurt", the muscular man snarled at Cloud making it a point to give him a callous shove with his elbow.

The men standing around him sniggered as Cloud stumbled back and bounced off the back of another candidate. No, it had most certainly not been Zack's fault, and that had been made painfully obvious as he watched the large ass.

Friend's still jeering; the jerky candidate turned half way to look at the tiny youth. The small blond was giving him a cold stare, his expression severe with a hint of anger. "What? You got somethin to say brat? If you do, let's hear it. Come on brat, speak", the jerk barked at Cloud holding his arms out tauntingly.

Cloud didn't respond verbally. Instead he narrowed his pale blue eyes and straitened his stance. Zack originally felt compelled to act, but now, for whatever reason, he decided he would just sit back and watch how this went. The dark haired young man folded his arms over his chest and settled back to watch the event unfold, prepared to intervene if it became necessary. 'This should be interesting. Cause, I get the feeling Cloud isn't as much of a doormat as all bronze is used to dealing with, or is expecting', Zack mused, cocking his head to the side and lips curling into an amused smirk.

The brute stepped forward expecting Cloud to balk away. Cloud stood his grown, tightening his pale hands into fists in preparation to defend himself from the larger man. Harsh black eyes looked him up and down taking in the new posture. Black eyes narrowed, furry burning in the deep orbs. "What's the matter punk, don't speak? You too good to talk to anyone? Come on, tell us", the muscular candidate demanded, stepping forward and shoving Cloud back with the tips of his fingers on one hand.

Cloud lurched backwards, and the other candidates scurried out of the way allowing him to stumble into the wall. For moments and moments only, Cloud looked down and away from his aggressor.

The brut stalked up to his pray ready to pounce, but stopped short, a malicious grin covering his face. "I get it; you're just a little punk ass coward. You wanna be big and brave but you don't got it in ya", the brute announced with a harsh laugh, continuing, "Well, if you wanna right the situation all ya have to do is apologize for bumping into me and promise you'll keep your pathetic ass out of my way from now on. Do those things and this all ends."

Hands held out like some sort of saint, the brute looked back at his friends chucking and nodding as if what he proposed was both reasonable and natural. After looking at some of the surrounding candidates, the brute returned his glare to Cloud. The blond had straitened back up and was returning a hardened glare.

Enraged, the brute latched a massive hand onto the collar of Cloud's infantrymen uniform, driving the youth back into the wall and up onto the tips of his toes. Face inches away, the brute spat, "Pipsqueak wants to be a tough guy and not apologize, then fine. But I'm warning you pipsqueak, I'll make you change your mind about that real quick."

"I suggest you let go of me and walk away from this", Cloud growled softly back at the brute making it a point to re-narrow his eyes.

The brute's face wrinkled up in rage at the blonde's refusal to submit. "Looks like I'm changing your mind", the brute hissed balling up a fist in preparation to strike.

The fist sped towards Cloud's face. At the last second Cloud, broke the brute's grip and slipped off to the side, setting him self up for a counter attack. The brute's fist crashed painfully into the wall instead of making contact with the soft flesh it had been intended to make impact with.

The brute whirled around on his heel, fist drawn back for a second attempt on striking the blond directly. Cloud dashed forward to close the distance and swung his back leg around to strike with a round house kick to the shoulder blades as the brute was still turning.

A tight grip closed around the brute's wrist as he began to swing aimlessly, attempting to slug Cloud before he could strike him, while Cloud's kick was stopped short by an open palm that transitioned into a firm grip about his ankle.

So there the two stood frozen, the brute with a pulled back punch and Cloud with his high aimed round house kick almost fully extended, held in place by a black haired operative. "I think it's a bout time we end this. Don't ya think? I mean, you'd ware yourselves out before the hard stuff even started", Zack explained with a toothy grin, carefully shooting Cloud a quick wink.

"Uh yea, we was just messing around sir, but I get your point. We wouldn't wanna ware ourselves out before training and all", the great brute chuckled, suddenly becoming as docile and obedient as a trained puppy.

Zack looked from the brute to Cloud, pausing until he received a nod of understanding from each. Satisfied that the two would "quit their roughhousing", Zack released them from his strong hold. The brute continued to give Zack a deceivingly charming smile and backed up slowly to rejoin his group of friends, turning his back only once he was safely in their presence once more. Cloud, on the other hand, remained frozen, kick still held high with exceedingly good posture, gazing in amassment at the operative's speed.

Cloud knew Zack had been hovering just inside the first ring of people forming the fight circle around him and the larger candidate, but the speed at which the black haired youth intervened had been incredible. No, the speed had been the most amazing thing Cloud him self had ever had the chance to behold. This black haired youth was definitely something, and the blond couldn't have felt better about getting, as far as he could tell, on the black haired operative's good side.

Initial shock wearing off, though the new found admiration remained; Cloud lowered his leg to stand with both feet planted firmly on the ground blushing lightly. He must have looked like an idiot holding the kick up like that so long after being let go of.

Slowly, conversations picked back up where they had left off around the almost full blown fight. Candidates wandered back to their original spaces they had occupied, some being from within the fight zone and others being else where in the hall, and reformed their original groupings.

Slowly, Cloud was able to meld back into his surroundings, disappearing in the many larger figures, with his eyes downcast and posture lax once more. Keeping his eyes down, Cloud quickly sought out his bag and threw it back over his shoulder.

A quick glance showed Zack a few feet away, back towards the blond, watching the candidates to make sure everything was back under control. With Zack still distracted, the blond youth began to slip away down the hallway. There wasn't any need for someone like that operative to get involved with someone like him. In fact, the operative probably had better things to do than baby sitting the smallest of the pack.

Now there was a thought Cloud hadn't bothered with previously. Zack probably only offered to _show_ him to his room because he had identified Cloud as the smallest and, therefore, probably the weakest. Zack was escorting him because he pitied him. That had to be the real explanation behind all this.

Mind made up that this was the case, Cloud squeezed his way through the masses, traveling further and further down the passage, putting more and more distance between him and Zack. 'Zack doesn't need to waste his time on me and I don't need his charity', Cloud thought bitterly.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alright, everything was back to normal and it was like nothing had ever happened. Pleased that he had successfully defused a situation on his own, Zack turned to find Cloud and continue on their mission to locate the stairs and then eventually Cloud's room. The only problem was…the blond was no where to be found.

Zack stood up on the tips of his toes to look over the candidates, working feverishly to spot at least the tips of the blonde's spiky hair, which had worked so well earlier in this mess. After a few seconds of scanning, the operative had no luck at finding the candidate. Had he been swept away somehow by the crowd reforming or something? Though, that wouldn't really surprise Zack at this point since Cloud had already appeared to be such a light weight.

Agitated by the mess, the black haired operative began making his way down the passage. Maybe Cloud had continued on not realizing he was now by him self.

Meer seconds passed and tips of blond spiky hair began dancing in and out of Zack's sight, floating into vision for a few split seconds between candidates, vanishing for a moment or two, and reemerging just a little further over or just a bit further up than before.

Target fazing in and out of his sights, Zack started shouldering has way through the thinning, now that he though about it, crowd in the general direction of the blond candidate. Positive he had become within ear shot, the black haired youth called out after the blond. There was no response and the blond didn't even move to look around in confusion.

Zack called out again, but again Cloud didn't even turn. This was becoming a pain. Zack had been positive Cloud should have heard him that time, but maybe it was still louder than Zack thought it was. So once more, the black haired youth called out after the blond candidate.

This time the blond stopped dead in his tracks and looked back over his shoulders revealing a slight blush across his cheeks. Was he embarrassed? If so what about? Unable to riddle it out for him self, Zack closed the remaining space between them, finding that Cloud had stopped on what one could call the very outskirts of the sea of candidates.

"Geeze, you move quick. Nearly left behind there for a moment", Zack laughed hitting Cloud playfully in the arm.

Cloud couldn't find it in hem self to tell the operative that he had purposely been trying to leave him behind so he could cut the in-connivance of escorting him short. "Oh, and by the way", Zack tacked on with another grin, "nice posture back there. And good form. I also don't think I've ever seen a candidate who could hold a kick that high and that long now that I think about it."

Zack threw an arm around the blonde's shoulder and gave the youth a light shake. "What do you say we go find your room now? I bet you could really use some rest after all that excitement, and that you can't wait to flop down on one this place's many mass produced beds", the operative questioned his eyes shinning happily in the odd lighting of the passageway,

"You really don't have to", the blond mumbled almost inaudibly, pale eyes becoming fixed on the ground like it was the only safe place to look.

Dark eyebrows knit together and the normally fixed smile went flat. "Don't have to do what? Show you to your room? I know I don't have to do that. I'm helping you out cause I feel like it, and it really isn't a problem", Zack replied.

The blond only shook his head, eyes still fixed on the ground. "No it's not that", the small youth mumbled, "You don't have to baby sit me and all. I know I might be the target of some pranks and jokes. And I know I might get shoved around a bit, but I can take care of my self. I know I can."

The slightly older youth listened carefully to the smaller one's mumbled words and took a few moments to let them register. The operative shook his head in response, using his arm to urge the small youth forward. "If I'm hearing you correctly, and I'm reading in between the lines right, then I want to say you got the wrong idea. I'm not hanging around to baby sit you and no one told me to look after you either. Every candidate is here on their own, no special attention and no special treatment. And I only singled you out because I thought you would be worth getting to know, that's all", Zack explained carefully returning to his normal cheery self as he added, "And by the way, I believe you when you say you can take care of your self. I only jumped in so that jack ass didn't end up getting sent to the medical ward before training even started. Sort of a sorry way for anyone to start their candidacy if you ask me."

The older youth gave a reassuring squeeze to the younger one, making it a point to leave his arm draped over the younger one's shoulder. Cloud blushed deeply at the small sign of affection and gave a weak smile up at the older youth, fighting to raise his eyes to meet the insanely blue ones of the operative.

"And seriously", Zack continued using his free hand to slap mindlessly at the electronic panel for the door to the stair well, "relax a little. I wasn't kidding with lesson number two. Relaxing when you can is important, and around me you can relax. Save all the up tightness for when you're around those training nazis during elimination rounds and stuff. Besides, I hate it when things are all up tight. It ruins the mood of things. Relaxed and carefree is the way to go."

The blond youth nodded taking in the operatives words. Another quick squeeze of the shoulders got the blond to look up and give a second weak smile in appreciation to the older youth.

Thankfully, Cloud had already looked back down towards the ground, because this time Zack noticed the weak fleeting smile. Heat raced up the back up the older youth's neck, threatening to engulf the tips of his ears and his evenly colored cheeks. The heat wave wasn't the only thing that surged over Zack. The heat was accompanied by a strange sensation that forced a smile from the operative's lips unlike his normal grins and smirks. This smile was more subdued and gentler than any other he had given before.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"318…316… Ah, here we are", Zack called back, slowing to a gentle stop, "Room 314. Your home away from home, at least until you get cut or are promoted to SOLDIER third class."

Cloud slowly wandered up to the operative standing in front of one of the hundreds of identical metallic doors that were set apart only by the numbers carved into their surface and then painted black. He stared long and hard at the three numbers, 314, carved into the door directly next the operative who had just guided him up a back staircase and around the many hallways of the third floor. This was going to be his new home for the next who knew how long.

Zack hit the panel next to the door mentioning something about meeting five other roommates. At the reminder of the hefty number of roommates, Cloud clenched his eyes shut and released a groan. He was willing to put up with anything, fight through anything, but the last thing he really wanted to deal with was roommates, because so far he had always drawn the short end of the stick when it came to this kind of thing.

In seconds, the door to the room slid open granting entry to the chamber beyond the door frame. It was an extremely simplistic room with minimal furnishing, which Cloud had expected. Unfortunately, though Cloud had wished against all odds this would not be the case, the room was also very confined, furniture packed in with the smallest necessary room needed to move about available except for down the center idle where a little extra room had been granted.

Three beds lined the right and left hand walls, their headboards against the wall. Each bed was teamed up with a plain dark metal nightstand without a drawer of any kind to the left it and a dark gray trunk at its foot. On the far wall were two built in desks, one on either side of a tall built in closet like structure that took up a third of the back wall space. Above each desk was a simple window with heavy navy blue blinds that had already been pulled up to allow light into the cramped living space.

Based on wrinkled covers and a few miscellaneous items, such as books or shirts, Cloud was able to deduce that the three beds on the right were already taken along with the third bed on the left. With a heavy sigh Cloud dropped his bag down on the first bed of the left row. He would have preferred to be further in but the best choices were already taken, and choosing the least desired bed out of the two possibilities would result in the least amount of argument.

"Right next to the door? You sure you don't want to move further in?" Zack questioned from his position leaning in the doorway.

Cloud only nodded to the other youth getting the feeling that if he tried to explain his choice, the other youth would only talk him into changing his mind.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Slightly depressed, Zack felt his smile weaken and eventually break. It looked like the time he was going to get to spend with the blond was drawing to a close. After all, how many more excuses to hang around the blond did the operative have? None, at least there were no excuses that were coming to the operative's mind.

Zack watched in silence, leaning on the door frame, as Cloud wandered into the room. He watched as the other youth gave the room a quick once over and then watched as the youth sorted through the availability of beds.

Eventually the other youth picked the closest bed on the left and dropped the stuffed bag on to the dark covers of the bed. When Zack asked if the blond really wanted to have the bed next to the door, his only answer had been a gentle nodding of the head.

A small smile was temporarily resurrected on Zack's gently tanned face. The blond would be right next to the door making it much easier to steal the younger youth away without anyone else in the room noticing. It would also make it easier for Zack to give the younger youth wake up calls as well as conduct random "check inns".

The temporary happiness quickly faded and Zack felt the slight depression setting back in. It really was odd. Zack had met so many people before, some being people he had taken a strong liking to rather quickly, but never had he felt depressed over not getting to spend more time with a person after knowing them for such a short time.

He had to find away to spend more time with the blond youth. There were no questions about it and Zack was prepared to sacrifice his time to be a demonstration dummy for the candidate training sessions if that's what it took…but hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that.

He had to be absolutely certain he had exhausted all other possibilities and his mind for any other options before he resorted to that. Commander Guile made such experiences less the pleasurable and the man him self made many things no longer worth while. Zack didn't want Cloud to become "no longer worth it". No, Guile could not ruin this, so he had to think of some other way first.

A light bulb went off in the recently dark idea portion of Zack's brain. "You know, they don't plan on showing you guys around ever, so why don't I give you a quick tour of the place along with some pointers? Then afterwards I can show you to the dinning hall and we can grab a quick bite to eat", Zack asked, holding his breath for the correct response.

"Uh sure, I'd like that…I mean, it would help…a lot", Cloud stuttered cheeks turning red for reasons beyond his comprehension.

"Alright lets get started then", Zack exclaimed with his classic grin returning to its rightful place.

"But first", Cloud interjected weakly, "do you mind answering a few question? I wanted to ask you them before I forget."

"Yea sure, ask away. No problems answering questions here", the operative agreed still grinning.

"First, by chance do you know when training starts for us tomorrow? Commander Guile never gave a time."

"Course the bastard didn't. He's probably trying to use that as a way to 'weed out' some of the candidates. You see, I remember posting a flyer, or whatever, on some of the notice boards for the hallways that were going to be used by candidates. The information on where and when you're supposed to meet should be on there. If not, I'll just ask Angeal, he might know."

"You already technically answered my second so onto the third. Which I guess you could say is a more out of curiosity then necessity…"

Zack nodded, urging the blond youth to continue with the question anyway. "What…what is exposure to mako energy like? I mean…you know…what does it feel like? What happens to you?"

The operative closed his eyes for a moment, face contorting in concentration before answering, "Well, each person handles it differently. Some people take it rather well while others…don't. Unfortunately everyone will find it less the comfortable…well, painful to some extent. Cold sweats are common. Minor fevers, headaches, and blacking out are also rather common. There are other responses to the injection but I wouldn't worry your self about all that now. And yes, I said injection. You aren't just simply exposed to mako energy like Commander stick-up-his –you-know-what makes it out to be. You are injected with specially processed and treated mako energy, but that's all the details I know about that."

Cloud shied away at the answer and seemed to be drawing back into himself. Afraid he might loose the youth, Zack cut into the silence with, "If that's all you wanted to know, why don't we get started? We have a little bit of ground to cover and a short time before the mess hall opens."

Zack reached out and took the blond by the wrist for the second time that day and began leading him out of the room. Just before making it out the door, the blond pulled back lightly and waited patiently for the older youth to come to a stop and look back. "Why…why are you being so nice to me?" the blond stuttered out before he could stop him self.

A blush crept over the small youths pale delicate face, eyes racing to find the floor. Zack's grin only grew at the question. "Because I feel like it, and I get the feeling your worth befriending", the dark haired youth answered casually brushing his bangs from his eyes.

After Cloud showed acceptance of the answer, Zack proceeded to lead to smaller youth out of the room and down the hall by the wrist to give a grand mini tour of the compound before dinner.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Before returning to his room that evening Cloud learned the locations of the shower room, baths, notice board for his hallway, nearest stairwell, and the main two elevators. Cloud also learned that the building directly across from the barracks, which had been on his right as he was heading to the meeting earlier that day, contained what he could call the gym as well as a few other things that Zack would spell out in detail later if Cloud didn't learn it on his own. One of the last bits Cloud learned was that the training fields and the out door ranges were all on the far side of the building he had entered for the meeting.

The final thing Cloud learned on Zack's tour was that the mess hall was what was located further back in the building with conference room one. It was at this point the two entered the mess hall to enjoy a basic yet slop free diner.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The door slid shut behind Cloud leaving him to stand alone in the darkness of his room. Instead of feeling for the light switch, the blond walked cautiously forwards searching for the bed with his knees and outstretched hands.

Finding the generic frame and mass produced mattress, Cloud crawled onto the bed feeling for the bag he had neglected to put away earlier before leaving his room with Zack. Instead of the bag he found a few small piles of clothes set out in a neat arrangement on his bed. Confused, and desperately wanting to find his bag so he could change into his night clothes, the blond edges his feet onto the floor and began grouping the wall for the light switch.

His fingers brushed gently over a slight bump in the smooth surface he was groping. Returning to the imperfection, h ran his fingers up and down its length trying to flip the supposed switch. A soft click rewarded his efforts and less then half of the rooms lights flickered on, the light becoming bright enough that he could see around the room but leaving the room dim enough that his quickly adjusting eyes wouldn't be hurt.

The blond turned back around to return to locating of his bag and the solving of what else was placed on his bed. His bag, he found, had been relocated to on top of his trunk at the foot of his bed. On his bed, were four neat piles of clothes, which Cloud guessed were different training outfits. The piles consisted of four dark blue pants, two black muscle shirts, two black t-shirts, and two jackets matching the pants in color, one with a hood and one without. Off to the side of the piles were two belts. The first was leather and easily determined as an average belt you used to keep up your pants. The second belt was thick and made from a sturdy fabric like material and had a canteen attached to it.

Cloud took this opportunity to unpack his bag, carefully stowing away its content in the chest at the foot of his bed. He taped the few pictures he had to the inside of the lid and stacked all his clothes from his bag neatly, by type of clothing, along the bottom of the trunk keeping mostly to the right. In the tray the lifted it self out of the trunk when he opened it, Cloud, placed his toiletries, books, and towel.

To finish off his settling in, Cloud reached back up onto his bed and carefully grabbed hold of each stack of clothes. First he placed the blue pants in and then next to them he placed all four black tops. Between these new tops and bottoms and all his old clothes, Cloud placed his jackets carefully into the trunk.

Satisfied with the arrangement, the blond stripped off his clothes, discarding them in a laundry bag that had been hung off the end of his bed, and pulled on a clean set of boxers and his baggy gray night pants. Snatching his towel from the chest shelf along with the small bag holding his soap and what not, Cloud closed the trunk and head off down the hall for a quick shower before turning in for the night.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cloud blinked the haze from his eyes bringing the monochrome ceiling of the dimly lit room into focus. He rubbed at his heavy eyes tiredly as he tried to remember why he had set is alarm to go off so god awful early.

Training or, more appropriately put, elimination for SOLDIER candidates started today, and showing up late was a sure fire way to get sent packing. Mind now functioning at the minimally required level, the blond candidate reached lazily over to his bedside table to hit the off button of his softly beeping alarm that worked at the current volume only because Cloud was a relatively light sleeper. Fingers slipping over the top of the buttons of the small clock, the blond smiled weakly to him self remembering how he had remembered to unpack the tiny thing from his bag and set only seconds before he turned in the night before.

If he had forgotten…Cloud shuddered at the thought. To say the least it would have been bad and he most likely would have been sent with his tail between his legs back to his old infantry position. Once back he would surly have had his sorry ass kicked thoroughly by his old commanding officer whom Cloud was not eager to return to the command of under any circumstance. But this was not going to be the case, at least not because he overslept today at least.

Now, more or less awake, the blond sat up lazily bringing his knees to his chest and looking around the room courtesy of the light from bright lamps on the outside of the building slipping in around the heavy cloth blinds. Each previously perfectly made bed was marred by a large bump under the covers, some consuming more of the area of the bed than others. The bumps gently expanded and shrunk to their own silent rhythm.

Cloud quietly kicked back the covers and slipped out of his bed glancing at the clock as he went. He had around an hour to get ready and make it down to the mess hall. He kneeled in front of his trunk and carefully pushed the lid back. Glancing around the room to ensure he wasn't disturbing any of his still slumbering roommates he wondered, 'Should I wake them up? Maybe I shouldn't in case they planned to get more sleep and take less time to get ready. But…what if they never figured out the time and guessed a later one? What if their alarms aren't going off or they forgot to set them? Or what if they realized mine was set and figured I would wake them up so they didn't set theirs?'

The blond knelt frozen on the floor by his trunk running through the different possibilities trying to determine of he should wake them all up or not. Muted beeping from another alarm besides his, which shouldn't be going off again anyway, interrupted his thought process.

Light gray sheets, and the washed out blue cover, on another bed rustled quietly in the silent room, and a soft click marked the end of the muted beeping. Sheets on the so far unidentified bed continued to rustle for a few more seconds. Then the figure of a sturdy tall figure with a slimmer build than some rose from the center bed on the opposite side from Cloud.

The other candidate rolled his shoulders, stretched his arms out in front of him, and flexed his fingers before making his way carefully around the bed to his trunk, throwing the lid back and catching it at the last second to keep it from crashing against the bed frame. But before kneeling or bending over to dig through the trunk, the tall candidate gave a swift kick to mattress of the bed furthest from Cloud along the right wall.

As the first roommate that Cloud had even seen, now that he thought about it, took a knee to dig for the things needed in the trunk, the inhabitant of the kicked bed stirred briefly before settling back into the sheets of his bed. Heaving a sigh, the first roommate stood dropping a pile of clothes on his own bed. Taking a few paces closer to the neighbor's bed, the first roommate bent over and gave the mattress a hard shove, jostling the inhabitant.

Within seconds, the neighbor swatted back his and sat up in a half dazed stupor. After blinking a few times and stretching out his back, the second roommate awake crawled out of bed, nearly colliding with the wall as he did so, and made his way clumsily to his own trunk. There he dropped down in front of it and fidgeted with the lid for a few seconds before finally opening it.

Now finally climbing to his feet, Cloud pulled a stack of clothes that consisted of the pieces he needed to make the training uniform stated on the board the night before, and threw them down on top of his tussled bedding. He then reached back into the trunk to pull out the bag with his toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, gel, and soap and washcloth placing the things such as his shampoo back into the tray of the trunk.

The slight bit of noise these actions generated earned the blond a quick glance from the first roommate. With a nod, Cloud carefully closed the lid of his trunk, picked up his bag of morning essentials, and felt along the wall next to the door for the open button.

Cloud made his way down the hallway, which was blessed with the presence of a few other individuals besides him, to the bathroom which was only seven or eight doors down from his room. He was quickly joined by the tall candidate from his own room who, in a rough mid toned voice, hailed, "Morning, and a pleasure to finally meet you. The name's Kitami, Maru. And I really would have introduced myself to you sooner, but whenever I was in the room you weren't there, and when you finally were, you were asleep."

Kitami held out a tanned hand as he walked along side Cloud. "Strife, Cloud", the blond replied taking Kitami's hand for a friendly handshake, Kitami's tan skin in stark contrast with Cloud's pale skin.

Footsteps thudded up the hall after the two. After a quick glance back Kitami gestured over his shoulder stating, "Oh, and this is another one of our roommates, Shin."

Cloud looked back to find the other candidate was shorter than Kitami by a matter of inches and of a broader build. Shin had dark brown hair only an inch or two long, solid stone colored eyes, and a moderate skin tone. A bit of a contrast to Kitami's light sun kissed brown hair, light green eyes, and tanned skin.

'Two roommates down, and three to go', Cloud remarked in his head wondering if his luck would hold up and the other three would be as mild mannered and respectable as the first two, but he knew only time would tell.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One roommate Cloud would never get the pleasure of formally meeting because, as pointed out by Kitami, the man was one of the ones eliminated first thing that morning for arriving on the training grounds a minute late according to the head officers watch, which Cloud quickly noted was a few minutes fast.

The second batch, technically speaking because there were those who never even learned the right time and didn't even know they were already done, of candidates to be eliminated already past, the head officer for that morning divided the remaining candidates into groups, assigning them an officer, and had the officer began them on stretches that rapidly morphed into strenuous exercises.

Some of the exercises consisted of basic exercises, such as the pushup, but the way the drill worked made the simple tasks increasingly difficult. One such exercise required them to start out doing twenty push ups, and on the last one they were to stop still in the down position and hold it until the whistle was blown, at which point they could return to the up position. The whistle would be blown again and this time they would add on five more pushups following the exact same instructions before. This sequence continued until they reached fifty to sixty pushups in one set, though Cloud couldn't remember the exact number because his mind had gone numb back at around forty or so.

As the morning drew to a close, and the blazing disk of light rose higher and higher into the sky, Cloud found himself praying there would be at least a half hour noon break. He collapsed as the officer assigned to his group called the end of the drill, and half crawled over to the side where his canteen had lay untouched for the past thirty minutes.

He wanted to down the contents of the canteen in one go but there were a few things that kept him from actually doing so. The first was that Cloud knew gulping down that much water that quickly would most certainly make him sick. Second of all, getting sick from drinking too much water too quickly was a great way to make him self look foolish and eventually causing him to be considered for elimination. After all, they wouldn't need anyone in SOLDIER that was stupid enough to, or lacked the self control to prevent, downing water and retching as a result.

The third and final reason was that he didn't know when or if they would allow the candidates to refill their canteens. One of the goals may also be to teach the candidates the importance of rationing and Cloud wasn't about the quench his thirst for this moment only to go thirsty for the rest of the day.

Over short controlled gulps of cool water, Cloud heard his training officer conversing with another man in a SOLDIER uniform, but he was unable to make out exact words at any point during the conversation. With his luck, the two were probably discussing which exercise would finish off some of the candidates.

Much to Cloud's and the other candidate's relief, their training officer turned and announced, "You have an hour and half break. Use it to eat lunch, refill your canteens, and retrieve your fighting gear, meaning whatever close range melee weapon you wield best along with any necessary gear to wield it, if any at all. Note that any sort of firearm does not meet requirements. Now get out of here, and don't be late getting back."

With a wave of his hand, the instructor finished dismissing the candidates from their morning training. Cloud remained on his back staring up the blue sky over head, framed on the outskirts of his vision by the walls of the training grounds. Lunch and a break sounded great, but the blond wasn't sure he had the energy left to get up, much less eat.

Pale eyes fluttering closed, Cloud began to drift off. A firm hand closed around each of his wrists and powerful muscles pulled at his body, using his wrists as the fulcrum, to lift him onto his numb legs.

Once upright, the blond almost fell forward, knees begging to give way, and eyes open half heartedly in a daze.

Light tapping on his cheek by a hand stirred the blond further and helped him to completely come back around. Eyes fully open, the blond could see a firm toned chest hidden beneath a form fitting navy blue shirt and two leather straps.

The figure holding him up by his shoulders gave him a slight shake, and Cloud found the strength to lift his head so he could take in the face of his supporter. There was a toned face wearing a wide grin formed by thin lips, surrounded by black spikes of hair, and completed with blazing blue eyes.

"Zack", Cloud managed to utter mindlessly.

"There we go", Zack half sung at the blonde's recognition.

The black haired operative threw an arm around the exhausted candidate's shoulders as he spun the petite youth to face the same direction he was with the opposite hand. For Cloud, the world spun dangerously out of control for a matter of seconds before settling to its normal state, only to find himself walking awkwardly towards the open gate of the training field. His feet stumbled one in front of the other at an erratic pace, each foot catching multiple times on the ground and his other foot.

Still dazed, Cloud was escorted through the gates, into the courtyard, and through a series of two sets of sliding glass doors. Through the first set of doors the air surrounding Cloud became far less heated. Through the second door, the surrounding air became cool and pleasant, hitting the blond as a bit of a shock after being out in the heat all morning.

Revitalized and reanimated by the cool air, the blond straitened up and forced his feet to work in a more predictable and reliable manner. Although the air around him was now cool, the blond still felt a slight heat crawling up the back of his exposed neck. "Hey, you might want to invest in some suntan lotion cause it looks like the back of your neck is starting to turn a little pink there", Zack pointed out with a smile after glancing over at the smaller youth.

At the hint of possible sunburn, Cloud's hand flew up to the back of his neck to test the exposed skin. Running his fingers over the spot he discovered that it wasn't tender and it wasn't excessively warm like a sunburn would be. That alone offered some relief. There was a good chance he wasn't completely burned after all.

With another glance Zack amended, "Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you with that. And…it looks like there isn't a forming burn there after all. Must have been the lighting."

Cloud's eyes widened and his fingers froze over the skin of his neck. So there wasn't even the slightest sign of forming sunburn anymore? Did that mean he had been blushing? But…why? Why would he be blushing? It wasn't like he was being carried in.

A shy glance up and over at the operative with his arm around him coaxed another warm sensation to ride up the back of his neck, this time spreading to the tips of his ears. Could it be Zack? Was Zack the reason behind Cloud's blushing?

Suddenly becoming aware of an increased heart rate, Cloud ducked out from under Zack's arm to walk backwards in front of the dark haired youth. "So, why did you make it a point to find me and march me here to the mess hall?" the younger youth questioned with his head tilted to one side.

The older youth gave an exaggerated shrug. "Felt like it that's why…I guess", Zack laughed in response adding on, "That and I was over there for some training myself. I saw all the candidates start flocking for the mess and I thought 'Why not look for Cloud'. So I looked for you and found you…looking rather dead I might add. But I don't blame you. The first day's pretty tough."

"Yea, it sure is. To make it worse I don't think I've had such a hard work out in a while, or at least a workout any where close to this in a while", Cloud muttered turning on his heel, deciding he was lucky he hadn't run into anybody or anything yet.

With a huge grin, Zack pulled up even with Cloud giving the smaller youth a hard hit square in the center of his back. "You seem tough though. I bet you'll make it, so just hang in there. And since you made it this far I'm gunna fill you in on a little secret", the operative announced casually to the younger youth, signaling for him to lean in closer.

Cloud leaned in towards the operative, practically resting his head on his shoulder, which he just about wound up doing anyway when Zack pulled him a little closer with another arm around the shoulders. "Secret is", Zack whispered energetically, "that the hardest days are practically the first week or so. Things will even out down the road and the work out level will become a hell of a lot easier to deal with because these first few weeks are gunna build you up. So push yourself to make it through the first few weeks, and you shouldn't have a problem later on."

The operative gave Cloud another grin and loosened his grip. Cloud straitened back up, allowing the operative's arm to slide over his shoulder, down his bare arm, and across his hand. A light shiver shot through the blonde's body, and he scrunched up his shoulders and closed his eyes momentarily in response.

Weak and faint, a smile teased across Cloud's lips which caused the operative's smile to broaden and his eyes to brighten considerably. In a brighter mood, Zack grabbed hold of Cloud's arm, delighting in the smooth sensation of the smaller one's skin, and towed him in the direction of a line that seemed far shorter than the others.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sitting alone on a long wooden bench, pulled out far enough so that he could lean against the cold hard wall, Zack watched as Cloud disappeared through the doors of the mess hall, enveloped by the bright daylight outside, which made the smaller youth look almost angelic.

Though Cloud was already gone from sight, Zack's eyes remained fixed on the point at which he could last see the smaller youth. He had been wishing the younger man could stick around a while longer, but he knew that wasn't possible. Being late to anything when you were a candidate for SOLDIER was asking for your death warrant to be signed. Being late meant packing your bags and leaving the compound without question. You just didn't show up late.

Zack wanted to be many things, but one of the things he most certainly did not want to be was the reason a candidate he liked was late to training. At this early stage of the game, not even a current SOLDIER member vouching for a candidate could save them, so Zack had let the younger man go…reluctantly.

Placing his arms folded atop the hard surface of the table, Zack leaned forward and carefully rested his head on top of his arms. Brilliant blue eyes still fixed on the last spot Cloud had been in sight, he released a deep sigh. He was bored…already. On top of that he was already missing his newest friend.

"Don't get too attached Zack", Kunsel warned sliding in on the bench next to the zoned out operative.

Zack jumped in his seat and bolted upright at the disembodied voice. The operatives blundering movements bumped the bench back in towards the table which led to his center of balance no longer being fully supported. Now off center and off balance, the event was completed by Zack practically following backwards off the bench, smacking his head against the wall as he went.

Kunsel fought back a barrage of laughter but the strangled sounds still remained audible. Still fighting to suppress the fit, Kunsel asked, "Startle much?"

"No, not really", came Zack's care free reply. The dark haired operative's legs were still half draped over the bench, and his torso and lower legs practically formed a ninety degree angle. His back was pressed up against the wall along with his neck and shoulders, and his face was about even with his knees, that were more on top of the bench than anything else.

"Right", Kunsel drawled taking a long slurp from the drink he was finishing, "So as I was saying, don't get too attached to him Zack. The guy's a candidate, and we both know any candidate could get cut at any time for any number of reasons."

"I know, I know", Zack grunted as he struggled to return to an upright sitting position.

The operative's friend simply nodded and continued to slurp the last of his drink. Dramatic, and loud, slurps erupted from the straw marking the cups dying moments and Kunsel sucked the container dry. With one last dry slurp, the friend put his empty cup down on the table and looked over at the operative now finally sitting properly upon the bench.

"But I get a feeling Cloud isn't about to get booted any time soon. I think he's gunna stick around a while", Zack explained in an airy breath as he stretched his arms back behind him, popping his back and pulling his chest tight.

"A little early for those kinds of observations. Besides, the last time you bothered to say that about someone they ended up lasting for about a week longer before Commander Guile personally eliminated him", Kunsel retorted with a shrug.

Zack snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well I hadn't really talked to that guy at all. I just said that after watching one of his practice matches, one! And I never said it with complete conviction or anything", the black haired youth continued defending his words, "Besides, this time I have actually been talking to the person I'm saying it about and I had the opportunity to watch him a little earlier."

"Watch him a little", Kunsel repeated with a raised eyebrow, "These candidates have been around for less than twenty four hours. All you could have seen him do is pushups, jumping jacks, stretches, and suicides."

"Yea, so? He looks like he has a lot of resolve and conviction. A lot of drive, and I can see it in his eyes. And eyes don't lie, Kunsel. Eyes don't lie", the dark haired youth exclaimed pointing at one of his own bright blue eyes.

"I'm sure they don't Zack, but the point is these candidates are just getting started. Anything can happen at this point. Your precious new little blond friend could get cut at any second at this point. And not to be a damper, it looks like he's the runt of the pack. The runts never do well, at least not normally. Yea on occasion one makes it but that's rare. _Rare_, Zack, and that's another way of saying highly unlikely", Kunsel explained pushing Zack away from him a bit since the youth had ended up leaning in.

"I know that, but I still honestly think he might have what it takes. And, by the way, the way you're talking its like I'll get hurt if I get too close to him and he gets cut. It's not like I'd never be able to find him again after he got cut or something", Zack argued, placing an elbow on the table so he could use his hand as an elevated head rest.

"That's not exactly how I meant it to come across", the friend began informing the youth while scratching the side of his face, "What I am getting at is that you are already really use to having the blond around and it's been less than twenty four hours. If you completely befriend him and get used to hanging out with him for an hour a two a day, and then all the sudden he gets the boot…I get the feeling you'll get at least a little depressed. Admit it, when you get used to something it just doesn't feel right when it's gone all of the sudden. And that not feeling right turns into the feeling of something's missing, and when it feels like something's missing any normal human being gets a little depressed."

The youth winced at his friend's words. They were true…all of them, but that didn't mean he was ready to give up on befriending Cloud. There was just something about the blond, and Zack wasn't going to let him get away. "I just don't think he's going anywhere any time soon, at least not as long as I can do anything for him", the youth mumbled entering another daze when his eyes happen to take in the spot he had previously been fixed on.

"What? You going to become the kid's guardian angel or something?"

"No", Zack spluttered coming back to reality, almost falling sideways, "I didn't say anything like that. If Guile or any of those other jerks try to cut him for stupid reasons I'll step in and say something", muttering as an after thought, "…or ask Angel to anyway…"

"So now your getting Angeal involved", Kunsel smirked, rolling his eyes and smacking his hand over his forehead, "Geeze. Well, just watch it ok? And by that I mean don't get too attached and you know I mean well."

Kunsel ruffled Zack's hair and leapt as the youth swatted at him playfully. The older man raised a hand in a quick wave and trotted off to engage in some idle conversation for the sake of learning something no doubt.

The black haired operative wistfully returned the wave and laid his head down on the table. Resting peacefully, he thought about everything and nothing at the same time. But regardless of the vast train of though, his thoughts soon came back to Cloud.

Cloud strode slowly, as if being played in slow motion, through open doors. Light bathed his body, slowly engulfing it, and emphasizing each and every one of his pale features. His hair glowed softly and his pale skin gave a warm gentle glow.

Before the light engulfed him completely, he looked back. His pale eyes were clear and delicate like fine glass beads. This skin over his face appeared so soft and gentle, and his lips looked smooth as flower petals. Golden, sun crested feathery bangs swayed back and forth over his face and eyes.

The angel closed his eyes slowly, slowly reopened them, turned his head away, and then Zack could see him complete his graceful stride through the door. Fingers of white light, like on a hand, reached in around his fragile figure eventually closing in around him, obscuring him from view. With each stride his figure grew fainter and fainter until nothing but the light flowing in through the door remained.

A soft warm sensation crept up Zack's neck, and flooded over the tips of his ears. Still searching for more flesh to claim, the sensation trickled over his cheeks. Heat, flooded up from under his collar, sending heat waves licking at his chin and cheek bones.

Eyes pleasantly vacant, Zack reached a steady hand up to his own cheek. It was warm to the touch. The operative straitened up, staring at his own hand which he had pulled away from his warm face. He was blushing, and he knew it.

Zack shook his head. The account he replayed in his head seemed so right but at the same time he wanted to say that it was different that what had actually happened. Cloud was a friend. He had walked out of the mess hall, into the sunlight, looking and had looked back once in a sort of "see you later" kind of way".

The operative could have sworn, that when Cloud had actually walked out the door it had seemed normal, but when he recalled it…Zack closed his eyes again letting the memory begin to replay. The memory seemed so much more unreal. And what about the blushing?

The blond was a friend…and a guy, though Zack had to admit that he was a rather cute guy. The thought caused Zack to shake his head again. His thoughts were getting a little too weird. Perhaps his boredom was getting the better of him.

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**A/N:** The yaoi draws ever closer. You can just feel it can't you? Though maybe I should make it clear that I may not be able to give you more than lime. In fact, I think I know I like writing some good lime and fluff and stuff. (But don't be disappointed my level of lime is good and strong. It aint weak^^) However, I don't think I have what it takes to give you lemon, and I feel my kind of writing gears more towards the, dare I say it,…cutesy stuff? (Nah, cutesy doesn't cut it but I'll think of a better word later) Whatever, later down the road I'll start asking for more input about that kind of stuff.

Anyway, chapters over so click the button below, you know that one that mentions "review" and tell me what you think. Until we meet again, Happy Reading!


	3. Ch 3: The Road Gets Rough

**A/N: **Ha, take that life! I got my next chapter out when I wanted to! *sticks out tongue at life*

Anyway, I happy to present to you, if you haven't already noticed, chapter three. It came out a...little...longer than I imagined it would, but hey, more for you, right?

Uh...disclaimer...right. I don't own Crisis Core, Final Fantasy 7, or any of the related characters. I do however own a few individual characters in this story...technically, because I made them up. XD

Without further delay, chapter three.

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Ch 3: The Road Gets Rough

Zack lay awake observing the ceiling panels of his bedroom. Small patterns of light, created by the building's outside lights squeezing in around the curtain, danced over the panels of the ceiling and across the walls of the room. The shadows flickered and sputtered like silent black flames.

A gentle breeze wafted through the open window, making the bottom of the heavy navy window shade swell and dance. The breeze covered the room with its gentle caresses, cooling the air and soothing the black haired operative awake in his bed.

Zack breathed in slowly and deeply, letting the air fully fill his lungs causing him to relax his already relaxed body even further. Bored with the patterns of light and his ceiling tiles, he flopped over onto his side.

He watched as his window shade continued its captivating dance in the night breeze, his eyes half lidded. However, the captivating dance and the soft caress of the breeze over his face wasn't enough to lull the operative into his normal restful sleep.

His mind kept running, fixed on his thoughts regardless of any physically stimulus that presented itself. The lazy thought process drifted fluidly through his head. The haze of sleep had allowed it to surface, and now it would not let sleep take him though it didn't wake him back up.

Unable to sleep, and unable to get his mind working functionally so he could think about other things, Zack gave in to the thoughts that had crept up from the depths within him. One thought formed carefully into another and then they flowed fluidly from point to point.

He wondered and lazily reasoned only enabling the continuation of the thought process that had formed itself at some time unknown to him. Slowly, Zack's mind allowed him to make a few final conclusions. Soon his mind quieted and his heavy eyes drifted closed.

Caressed by the breeze and cradled in gentle shadows, Zack fell into a deep sleep, a thin pleasant smile set upon his lips. He lay comfortably on half on his side and half on his stomach with his right arm under his pillow and head. Light sheets lay loosely over the operatives conditioned body, leaving his bare upper body expose from around just below the shoulder blades up.

The next morning Zack sat up in his bed, leaning against the dark wood headboard. He rolled his shoulders, flexed his back, and rotated his neck as his mind completed the process of waking up. Rubbing the corners of his eyes with his index finger and thumb, Zack's thoughts returned to the matter he had ended up thinking over the night before.

He returned to the matter that had come drifting to mind, Cloud. After making sure that was what his thoughts had been about, Zack reinstated his thoughts from the night before to bring everything that was on his mind back to the forefront.

After thinking carefully for ten or fifteen minutes, a soft smile played over Zack's lips as, for the second time, he finished his thoughts making all the same final conclusions he had made last night, at least as far as he could remember, thus far.

First, Zack had determined that Cloud was in fact a friend only…at this point. He may have only met the blond about a month or so ago, but he felt that he had already come to know and, somewhat, understand the blond. He had learned the other youth's name and that he from Nibelheim. Zack had also learned that the blond was originally in the infantry and had been for around a year. He had also already shared numerous friendly conversations with the blond. All things added up, Zack felt enough had been exchanged that he could call Cloud a friend.

Second, Zack concluded that he wasn't entirely sure what Cloud thought of him as. Cloud seemed friendly enough so maybe Zack had already reached friend level as well, but it wasn't like the blond had come out and said anything that made it obvious. In fact, the blond seemed to be skeptical of Zack at times. All things considered Zack made it a goal to find out what Cloud saw him as, and to make it friend level if he wasn't there already.

Third, Zack's thoughts had wandered to much more important and serious matter. He had been feeling a few odd sensations and strange feelings over the past month. It was no mystery that Cloud had something to do with every single one of them.

Added to the mix were odd thoughts that Zack normally didn't get. Some of these thoughts included just how cute the blond was, and how much he liked various attributes about the candidate. He had managed to get so caught up on the multiple details about the other youth. There were so many things he couldn't help but like.

To take things even further, Zack felt more compelled than ever to be around the blond. It was true that he always enjoyed being around people and that he loved spending time with any friend, but he felt a drive to be around Cloud that was unlike any other he had ever had. No matter how much time he was around the youth it wasn't enough. Zack wanted to spend more time with the blond, and to get to know him more and more.

Combining all these things, Zack came to a final conclusion. He, Zack Fair, was crushing on a blond SOLDIER candidate by the name of Cloud Strife. There was no other way to put it. Although he was strait he had fallen for a guy.

The dark haired operative had continued to think over the revelation and the more he thought about it, the more he realized he had somehow already known he was crushing on the other youth. He had continued by considering everything that he could think of that might be relevant to the matter and concluded that he didn't care Cloud was guy.

As soon as he had decided to this, Zack felt like he was lighter than air. His heart beat strong, though it felt as light as a feather, and a cool sensation traveled over his entire body. His face heated and his breath became long and drawn out. Over all, the operative felt incredible.

In this incredible new mood, Zack climbed out of bed. Taking a few steps and then reaching over, he tugged on the string for his window shade, raising it, and greeted the morning.

Early morning sunlight rushed over the tops of building and fell in bright golden rays over a section of Zack's bedroom floor. The sun had only just started peeking over the horizon, and the sky was still in the grand transition from black to bright blue, bursting in brilliant shades of gold, orange, and red.

Zack gained, discovering yet another reason that his morning was a good one. He hadn't over slept. It wasn't like he over slept often or anything, it was just whenever he did his days ended up rather lousy. So he had come to believe that if he was up on time or early, the day had a higher chance of being good. Except for on weekends of course, unless there was a mission or a meeting he was supposed to be at, because the weekends were for rest and relaxation, which, in Zack's book, entailed sleeping in.

Humming one of his favorite tunes, Zack turned from his window and turned his attention to digging through his dresser and locating his towel. Once he found a set of clothes for the day and he had a towel in hand, the operative set happily off for the bathroom.

…………..

Unlike the peppy black haired operative, Cloud's morning was off to a more usual start. The blond awoke to a dim quiet room, rolled over sorely, and slapped a bruised hand down on the off button for his alarm.

Achy and still tired, he fought back the sheets and dragged his legs over the side of the bed. Reluctantly, he stood almost falling sideways from his lack of balance this morning. Just as clumsily as he had climbed to his feet, Cloud made his way round his bed to his trunk to continue his morning ritual.

Like clockwork, rather shaky clockwork, Cloud trudged down the near empty hallway towards the bathroom like he had for the past twenty-five plus days. The long passage was dark except for dim lights embedded in the ceiling, spaced out down the length of the passageway.

As he walked mindlessly down the passage, Cloud ran the tips of his fingers over the dark red stripe painted on the wall, skipping over the doors. When the line swelled and turned into giant letters that formed the word Shinra on a large section of wall void of doors, the blond returned his hand to his side and turned to his left, away from the lettered wall.

The door to the bathroom swished open silently as soon as he placed a finger on the doors control panel. He entered the room and the door swished closed behind him like always. The blond rubbed his eyes with his available hand as he made his way back to the second set of bathrooms and sinks.

He carelessly dropped his towel and other belongings on the long bench running down the center of the long room, separating the sinks and bathroom stalls. The faucet creaked as he turned it and water sputtered from the spout. Waiting for the water to warm, Cloud held his finger tips under the cool water, turning the running stream into a thin curtain of liquid.

Over the sound of the tap, Cloud heard the gentle clicking of the bathroom door sliding open in the first part of the room. Footsteps of multiple people clacked across the tile floors followed by the sound of the metal door sliding back closed. 'Looks like I'm not alone this morning', Cloud sighed in a half dazed state.

Although he had managed to make it all the way here, Cloud felt like he was still in another world, like he was still asleep. So as long as the new arrivals to the bathroom didn't try to talk to him like mornings weren't evil, he could care less about them being in here.

Cool soon turned warm over the tips of his fingers and Cloud withdrew his fingers from the flowing tap water. He limply walked back the few steps to the bench and retrieved his towel from the floor and the necessary care items from his bag on the bench before returning to the running sink.

A toothbrush, toothpaste, bar of deodorant, and a small silver bottle of facial soap clattered down on the tin shelf over the sink from Cloud's hands. Taking the ratty green towel from over his shoulder, he readjusted it to fit easily around the back of his neck, the ends of the towel cascading over his bare shoulders on either side of his neck.

The blond zombie placed both hands under the warm water, lowering his face to the sink, and splashed it over his pale skin. Water dripping down, Cloud half stood using his one open eye to locate his facial soap on the shelf. The blond squeezed a nickel sized dot on the tips of his fingers, replaced the bottle, and returned his face to just above the sink, rubbing the white soap over his face.

Satisfied that his face was cleaned, and his face officially overcome with a cool sensation from the deep cleaner, the blond splashed more warm water over his face to rinse. Cloud straitened up grabbing blindly for an end of the towel around his neck. Hand firmly closed around the cloth, he pulled the edges into both hands.

As Cloud pulled the towel down his face one last time, moping up the last of the water, he couldn't help but feel…uneasy. He snapped open his blue eyes and focused on the mirror. Within seconds his eyes focused and his heart became heavy with dread as he processed the sight in the mirror. The slow morning was about to get interesting, and fast.

Dropping the towel from his hands, Cloud rotated on his heels to face the men standing around behind him. He recognized more than one of the men beyond the shadow of a doubt, and if he had read the men properly, none of them particularly cared for him.

To make the unfolding situation look even worse, one of the men he could identify most likely hated him. In fact, this man had probably hated him since day one and had most likely wanted to do terrible, unspeakable things to him.

The small blond candidate stood frozen in place, heart pumping as if he had just run a set of suicides. Cold perspiration formed over his palms and along his collar bone. Mouth and throat running dry, Cloud swallowed hard trying to make it as unnoticeable as possible.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little pipsqueak prodigy", growled the most muscular man of the group who was leaning against the center section between two bathroom stalls.

The bulking man, whom Zack had said he nicknamed "the brute" after the incident in the main hallway of the barracks, rocked forward off the stall doors and strode conceitedly toward Cloud. The small blond tried to step back when the brute stepped over the long bench, but his retreat was thwarted instantly by a wet sink slamming into the small of his back.

Cloud grimaced but kept his narrowed pale eyes locked on the brute. A threatening smile spread wide over the massive man's face, cold eyes gleaming with a deadly fire. Cracking his knuckles he asked coolly, "What, is the prodigy scared? Can't move? Can't speak?"

"What do you want", Cloud hissed quietly, clenching his fists.

"My aren't we touchy", the brute laughed coldly, popping his other set of knuckles casually before continuing in a mocking tone, "That's a shame cause we just came to congratulate you. You've been doin real well out there, already gettin some recognition with the officials and all. I mean, it's only been a month and already the little child of the group is getting praised. Such an honor."

Disdain dripped off the man's words, increasing with every word spoken. As his words became venomous, his eyes burned harder with each passing second. Licking his lips, the brute nodded subtlety to the other men.

Sensing that the situation was rapidly becoming dangerous with every second Cloud set to analyzing every aspect he could, as fast as he could. The facts were that he was outnumbered seven to one in an isolated place, with thick walls, at an hour in which another person randomly walking in was unlikely. Random help being unlikely meant that he was, beyond all doubt, in this alone.

A fight was becoming increasingly likely. That in mind, Cloud moved on to the next step, identifying everything he could about the people around him. First there was the brute. The man hated him, and based on his most recent words he was most likely jealous. The thing about the brute was that he was strong, and if he hit Cloud, he would hit hard.

The next man Cloud knew was actually one of his roommates, though one he tended not to speak too, who went by the name of Tory. Tory had shown a dislike for Cloud starting sometime after the first two weeks of training. Unfortunately, Tory was fast and most likely capable of catching Cloud if he ran, not to mention highly capable of out maneuvering him.

The next two men, who went by Red and Tank, were good friends with each other and had befriended the brute early on, which meant they hated him by default. Cloud had yet to get the chance to see either of them fight, which meant he didn't know what to expect out of the two leaving him at a disadvantage. Though he could, however, take as few educated guesses. Tank looked like a power house and Red looked like a blitzer, or someone who came in hard and fast dealing their damage in rapid succession while attempting to leave little to no time for an opponent to retaliate.

The remaining three men Cloud knew nothing about except that they obviously didn't like him, otherwise they wouldn't be here and seeing how that seemed to be the theme so far. All three were mystery elements if fighting broke out. He didn't know their tendencies, their specialties, habits, nothing. To make it better, they all appeared to be more average fighters which left them open to hundreds of different combinations of the fighting elements, which made an uneducated guess worthless. All things considered, the situation was looking worse than terrible.

The last thing he took in was everyone's positioning. To start things off he, Cloud, was standing with his back to the sinks. The brute was only feet in front of him and closing in. Tory had positioned himself off to the right, alongside the bench, with his arms over his chest. Red and Tank were on the far side of the bench on either side the brute. To Cloud's left, two of the remaining men were staggered between the sinks and the bench. One of which was sitting with one leg on each side of the bench, a way that Cloud knew was easy to spring up from. The last man was located back beyond Tory and was leaning up against the sinks.

Cloud had been encased in a brilliant half circle formation, and, as far as he could tell, there were no weak points that screamed "break through here". Running would be difficult with the men located where they were, especially with Tory positioned between him and the exit if the silver haired speed demon really wanted to keep him there.

The blond wanted to avoid fighting if he could, but so far the other options looked as if they stood a crickets chance of not getting eaten when it was trapped in a lizard's cage. Running, as his analysis of the situation had revealed, would prove to be extremely difficult. Diffusing the situation had never been an option to begin with. The ring leader had it out for him, and no amount of talking was going to convince the fierce man to back away from the opportunity to pummel that which he hated most.

Running stood little chance with things as they were. Diffusion was impossible. The only option left was stand his ground and fight if the men attacked.

The time it took Cloud to analyze and make his conclusions felt like an eternity, but the reality was thirty to forty-five seconds. In that short time the brute had made some remark that Cloud had missed, which apparently had been quite funny seeing as how all the other men were laughing harshly.

Sadistic smile in place, the great brute spun fiercely around almost landing a massively overpowered punch to Cloud's body. Fortunately, the man's level of power usage slowed his movements. Cloud, being on the faster side of things, had been left with enough time to react accordingly.

The blond dashed deftly from his place against the sinks, ducking down under the intended blow, and slid to a stop on the backside of the brute. Before, the quick youth could launch an attack of his own, the man from next to Tory rushed in, garbing at the small youth.

The random lackey latched painfully on to Cloud at the junction of his neck and shoulders. Fingers digging into his pale skin, Cloud reached back with his right foot, hooking it around the other man's ankle, and, after slamming his own head back into the current attacker's face, he pulled the man's foot out from under him sending the attacker crashing to the ground, blood running in rivers from his nose and splattering on the ground.

Last attacker still falling, Cloud pushed all his weight forward, dropping his center low, and, with his arms up protecting his face, he rushed in under another of the brute's punches, slamming into the large assailant's stomach.

The largest assailant stumbled backwards, colliding with one of the other two nameless men. Momentum still carrying Cloud forward, the blond rotated on the platform of his left foot striking out at Tank with a powerful round house kicked aimed at the ribs.

Tank smashed his palm into Cloud's ankle, redirecting the kick and leaving Cloud's right ankle throbbing in pain. The powerful redirection cause Cloud to turn so that his back was exposed to Tank, also offsetting his balance, and leaving him exposed as he took a graceless step forward to keep from falling.

Desperate to recover, Cloud attempted to continue in the direction of the spin and land a back fistedstrike on Tank. As his arm flew out, fist pulled tight, a heavy fist slammed into the small of his back, making his entire lower back scream in pain and his knees to go weak. Before one of his knees gave way, his back fist slapped ineffectively across Tank's arm.

For a split second Cloud swayed on one knee, unable to move as his body grimacing from the pain in his back. Regaining composure and physical function, Cloud threw up an arm in defense from the blow coming from the brute, who had been the one to successfully strike only seconds sooner. The block however came at a hefty price. He blocked a fist to the head from the brute, but took an elbow to the collar bone, courtesy of Tank, in place of the punch.

While he was defending against the brute, Tank had closed in, and swung hard at an angle with his elbow, aiming for the shoulder or anything close to it. On contact, Cloud fell forward, catching himself with his hands, and his second knee gave way, smashing into the ground so that he was on all fours. The blonde's blue eyes burned and watered as a strangled cry of pain, mixed with a sharp gasp, escaped from between his parted lips.

Fearing a complete beat down if he didn't get out of there soon, the blond kicked out with his left foot and hooked one of the brute's legs since the bench prohibited him from reaching Tank, and yanked as hard as he could. The brute tumbled backward and away from Cloud, landing enraged on the hard floor, head narrowly missing the sinks.

The blond had created his opening, but at the same time he had cracked his left knee on the underside of the wooden planking of the bench as he had brought it across his body from the sweep. Knee now throbbing painfully, Cloud rolled over his legs in the direction the brute had fallen, causing him to crush his own injured knee momentarily.

In the position of a runner's start, Cloud clambered forward; outrunning a messy front bound kick at his back from Red, who had jumped over the bench to take over the brute's opening. Still in hot pursuit, Red took aim at Cloud's leg as the blond struggled to make it to his feet still, and brought his foot down with the force of a sack of bricks. Red's foot slammed into the floor, narrowly missing Cloud's left leg.

Finally back on his feet, the injured blond spun on the ball of his right foot, sliding his left foot into its place as the back leg in his stance. A sweeping block spared him an elbow to the face, but earned him a throbbing right forearm. Red followed up with a fast punch aimed at the face and throat. Cloud grabbed hold of Red's wrist, forearm muscles burning under the use, and pulled the assailant's arm across his body, brining up his left knee to smash into the attacker's ribs.

Before the knee made contact, a powerful hand wrenched him by his own wrist, forcing him to set Red's free. Another strong hand pushed into his shoulder blade as his wrist was yanked back to make his arm strait. As soon as his arm straitened, he spun forty five degrees, at the new assailant increased the pressure being applied to his shoulder blade. The blade of the attacker's hand digging deeper and deeper into the spaces between the bones of his shoulder blade, Cloud lurched forward unable to fight the natural motion.

Within seconds Cloud found himself on the ground; face down with a knee planted firmly in the weak point of his shoulder and his arm pulled back in a painful arm bar. Quickly turning his head to the side, before the pain swelling from his shoulder and arm consumed his senses, Cloud was able to just barley glimpse Tory out of the corner of his watering eye. Tory had finally entered the fray, and in seconds he had shut down Cloud's attempt to escape and all mean's of fighting back.

Cloud gasped painfully as Tory gave a strong tug on his arm, wrenching it in a direction it didn't naturally bend. The light burning in Cloud's eyes intensified and soon hot tears began pooling along the rims of his blue eyes.

The blonde's breathing came in quick hard bursts, made irregular by the pain building in his body. Each breath expanded his chest, lifting his torso upwards, causing Tory's knee to painfully jab further into his shoulder and his arm to strain from the hold. The pain surged and the blond quickly released his breath to alleviate the pain, waiting as long as possible before breathing again.

Cloud was now pinned and helpless. Not far from him blood spatter was drying on the hard floor, an almost ironic twist to the situation. It wasn't Cloud's blood, but the blood from an attacker that Cloud had made bleed. Up until this point the blond had yet to bleed a single precious drop, but now that he was pinned, it was only a matter of time before he was.

"Do it, throw it right out of place", the brute bellowed still composing him self from the tumble to the floor less than two minutes earlier.

Tory shook his head slowly explaining calmly, "I came here to see him get his sorry ass kicked since you said you were already planning on doing just that, and I intended to do nothing more than to prevent him from running, if anything at all, not to tear him apart. I'll do that to him in the arena by myself. Otherwise it isn't a victory for me."

"Do it", the brute demanded taking ungainly steps forward, face twisting in anger.

Tory narrowed his piercing green eyes that were rimmed with a thin line of dark green around the edges of the iris enhancing the brilliance of the light jade green of the rest of the iris. His narrow face grew darker as a more severe expression set in. "Zahawk. I already told you that it's not my thing. So don't you god damn keep telling me to do it! Come do what you want, but I'm not here as one of your lackeys", Tory reprimanded fiercely, his calm voice burning with the intensity of red hot steal.

Zahawk's face grew red and contorted, a vain beginning to visibly pulse in his temple. Awkwardly, but with amazing power behind him, the ring leader strode towards the downed candidate and Tory.

"You do it, or I swear we'll make sure we 'tare you apart' because unlike you 'that's our kinda thing'. You got five…four…three", with each number counted down, Zahawk drew closer and closer to Tory.

Tory's eyes lit up like green fire, the corners of his mouth twitching a furious frown. The stubborn young man held his position, unmoving as Zahawk closed the distance until he became a looming tower next to him. Just after Zahawk angrily hissed one, Tory clenched his eyes shut and sat up on his knee, driving all of his weight down into Cloud as he yanked back the blonde's arm at the same time.

A loud crackling pop echoed through the bathrooms followed closely by Cloud's short scream of pain and sharp hissing intake of breath. Blood dripped from the corner of the blonde's mouth, trickling over soft lips, down his pasty chin and cheek, and dripping eventually onto the cold hard floor.

Burning tears overflowed light blue eyes as the white's of his eyes quickly grew red, intensifying the delicate shade of blue. "I'm glad we see eye to eye then. But if you don't want to help 'kick his ass', get the hell out of here, and remember, you're involved in all of this. Go runnin to anyone about this and your brining your self down", Zahawk laughed coldly shoving Tory.

Shaking from his furry, Tory stood slowly, drawing himself up to his full height. Jade eyes still flaming, he glared at the larger man for a few moments before, stepping over Cloud and marching from the room, head held high and fists curled tight.

A wicked smile returned to Zahawk's face, and he turned his attention back to the now shaking blond on the bathroom floor. "Not so tough now are you Strife? The pain's too much for you", he hissed stepping down on Cloud's dislocated shoulder.

A cry died in Cloud's throat as he clenched his jaw closed tight to fight it. Dark eyebrow's furrowing, Zahawk frowned in displeasure at the lack of audible response. He could feel the blond quake from the pressure under his foot, but there was no sound. To remedy the situation, he pressed down again, but this time harder, dropping more of his weight into it.

A loud gasping cry echoed through the bathroom, and the malicious smile returned. "Now, it seems like you can't handle pain well, but I guess that's what happens when you never get hit because instructors ask others to take it easy on you. So you know what? We're gunna help you with that little problem", the cold bastard explained in a sweet sadistic tone.

Cloud whimpered softly as he shuddered from the sadistic man's tone. Every limb of his body was shaking and it felt as if his heart had turned to stone from fear.

Carefully at first, Zahawk reached under Cloud's throat, and then squeezed his fingers together slowly, applying more and more pressure a little at a time. Eventually he was closing off Cloud's airway and the small blond drew rattling breaths as he fought to continue moving oxygen through his system. Just as black spots were flickering through the blonde's vision, the large muscular man dragged the small youth to his feet by his throat.

On his feet, Cloud's right arm hung limp at his side, and his knees trembled uncontrollably as they struggled to hold any of his weight. More black spots swarmed his vision, and the youth felt him self begin to sway even while he was still being held. Suddenly, the pressure around his throat was released and air was finally able to come rushing back into his lungs. The support was gone as well, and the blond swayed forward only to be grasped firmly by the shoulder, strong fingers digging into his tiered body.

After three or four coughing and spluttering breaths, Cloud's vision cleared and clarity returned. Weakly raising his head to look at his number one hater, Cloud's eyes finished coming back into focus. Zahawk gave him another malicious grin before picking him up by the shoulders and heaving him over the bench.

The same split second his feet come back in contact with the ground, Zahawk propelled the blond backward into the stall doors. Cloud's head smashed into the black sheet metal, and his world flashed white.

Sliding down the doors, another man rushed in and kneed him hard just below the ribs, forcing every last bit of air that he had regained after the impact to be pushed from his lungs. Cloud could feel something popping and shifting inside of him from the knee as the man pulled it away.

Struggling to breath, Cloud sucked in labored breaths as he slid the rest of the way down the doors. Someone else came up and hauled him back to his feet. Another strike smashed into his stomach and Cloud doubled over in absolute pain.

The same person slammed him backwards into the stall doors again to straiten him out causing him to strike his head painfully once more. The small blonde's body was enveloped by massive trembling and tears streamed from his eyes. His face paled rapidly as his eyes grew dull and unfocussed.

Another blow landed somewhere on his body but he couldn't tell exactly where. His world was blurring and all the figures and the lights ran together forming blurs of color. Slowly the whole world began growing dark around him.

Another strike and another but Cloud stopped fully reacting, flinching reflexively only. His body quickly grew numb. Another blow and Cloud crashed to the floor.

His vision flickered and his eyes grew heavier with every passing second. The blonde's face was heavily tear stained and his delicate skin had grown a sickly white. The thin line of blood from his lip still trickled from the wound just inside his mouth from when he had bitten the inside of his lip.

Seconds passed and Cloud lost all consciousness. He lay still as stone on the cold floor, his attackers standing just off and away from him. Zahawk eyed the lifeless form and sighed. The fun was over now, because it wasn't fun to beat on a ragdoll.

Expression calm and un-amused like a bored child, Zahawk waved a hand at his lackeys as he seated him self on the bench. "Hide him in the last stall, down on the end. It's larger enough that we can just throw 'em on the floor in there. What's even better is that no one ever uses that stall. Make sure once he's in there you shut the door. Oh, and make sure you throw his junk in there with him", Zahawk instructed calmly, bending over and picking up the ratty green towel.

Tank heaved the light weight blond up off the ground and over his shoulder. The bouncer like man stopped in front of the last black door, recklessly kicking it open. Thundering forward, he stopped the swinging door and, in a fluid effortless motion, he shouldered Cloud onto the ground like one would discard a backpack.

The other men threw Cloud's possessions into the stall around the blond, the deodorant landing with a splash in the toilet. Zahawk strolled over to the stall still holding the ratty green towel. "Here, maybe with this you can clean up a little when you wake up", the sadistic man drawled, tossing the towel into the stall so that it landed over the broken blonde's face.

Everything now in, Red closed the door, roughly jostling Cloud's limp body, to get it completely closed. The deed now complete, Zahwak strolled through the door frame on the far side of the long room, passed through the room's twin, and then led the group out the door into the hallway to go about there morning like nothing had happened.

…………..

Something wasn't right. For the thousandth time, Zack scanned the training grounds, for a petite, fair skinned, blond candidate but, like every time before, he came up with no one fitting the description. In utter disbelief, he double checked himself, hoping and praying the blond had been obscured by another candidate. Still nothing.

Growing visibly distressed, Zack began to wander around the edges of the training ground. Cloud had to be here. There was no where else that Cloud could be except for out here. The blond hadn't been injured during training so he wouldn't be in the medical wing or his bedroom. All the candidates had the same lunch break and that wasn't for another two hours, so he wouldn't be in the mess hall.

Zack ran his hands nervously through his black spikes of hair, makoblue eyes feverishly searching for any sign of his crush and friend. Five to ten minutes passed and Zack was getting close to being half way around the training field and there still was no sign of Cloud.

After completing his round about the training grounds the candidates were using, Zack became more worried than he had about anything in years. Eyes drooped and lips turned into a partial frown, the black haired youth stated to search for the officer that was normally placed in charge of Cloud's group.

The new search took minutes. Upon spotting the officer, Zack trotted over towards the group and positioned himself along the wall. Not wanting to make a scene if it wasn't necessary, the youth looked the training group over once more for good measure. Once he was done with his last look over the whole grounds he switched his focus to the officer's group.

He spotted two or three different candidates he knew he had seen in the same training group as Cloud, so he had the right group. But…the only problem was…there was no Cloud.

The operatives eyes grew even more pathetic and he could feel his heart tremble. Had the blond been cut?

Zack rubbed a gently tanned hand over his face, trying to forget the thought. The blond hadn't done anything to get cut, so that couldn't be the case. He would just have to ask the officer.

Practically jumping from foot too foot, bouncing up and down all the while, Zack waited for the officer to declare a five minute break, before bolting form the wall and approaching the target. Before Zack could so mush as breath the officer massaged his temples and asked, "What is it Fair?"

Stopping dead in his tracks, Zack rocked backwards as if the man had physically hit him. He was never around this man, and already he sounded annoyed with him. Waving it off Zack inquired as calmly as possible, "By chance do you know where candidate Strife is? He's a real young guy with a small build. He's got real blond hair and…"

"I know who Strife is, Fair, and no, I don't know where he is. But I can tell you he's suppose to be here with me. I can also tell you that I haven't seen him all day. Never showed up. If you're looking for him and you find him, tell him he's cut for me will ya? It'll save me some time and effort, thanks", the officer impatiently cut Zack off with a sigh, answered, and requested all in one go.

"Didn't show up", Zack repeated in disbelief, dropping his gaze to the ground.

"Yea, you heard me right. Strife never showed up", the man confirmed with irritation soaking his words.

Dazed, Zack began wandering away deep in thought, unable to comprehend the words 'didn't show up'. Still within ear shot Zack muttered a half hearted thanks to the man, and directed him self towards the gates of the training field.

Once out, Zack slumped against the concrete wall next to the chain link gate, and slid down to sit in the dusty gravel. Cloud just didn't show up, but that didn't sound like the youth at all. The youth had seemed so determined to make it, and he had been doing so well so far. True it was still within the first month, but that didn't mean he couldn't have started to impress some people. Some talent is just noticeable, and Cloud had that talent. Zack was sure of it, because why else would the blond be here at such a young age if he didn't have that talent?

So why would the aspiring youth just not show up? There was just something utterly wrong with this, and Zack was going to get to the bottom of it.

As if the life stream supported his very goals, Cloud's roommate, Kitami, walked through the gates wiping the sweat from his drenched brow. "Kitami", Zack called out jumping to his feet, and racing to get over to the young man.

Kitami basically stopped midstrideand turned to find the source of the voice calling his name. When he saw Zack, he stood patiently and waited for the operative, who didn't keep him waiting long, to reach him before he continued walking towards the supply house that stood just behind the indoor range and field house about two football fields away from the gates.

"Hey Zack, what's up?"

"Nothing much, but…uh…I wanted to ask you something. You got a minute?"

The sun kissed candidate nodded with a warm hearted smile. Zack nodded his appreciation and returned a slight smile before asking, "What happened to Cloud? His instructor said he didn't show up today."

Kitami's expression dropped and his smile faded. Rubbing the back of his head, he replied, "I'm not sure. I woke up just in time to see him leave the room this morning. It looked like he was still in his sleep pants, and he was carrying all he normally does when he heads for the bathroom in the morning. When I dropped my stuff off in the room after getting ready later, I noticed his clothes for the day were still on his bed. I just figured he had gone to bathe, but I could have sworn he had last night."

As Kitamifinished his reply and came to a stop. With a sigh he looked over at the dark haired operative, "It's just weird. I don't know where he could have gone…Actually, now that I think about it. I'm not even sure if he ever made it to the mess hall."

Zack's heart slowed to a near standstill as he listened to the roommate explain. His spirits deflated a few more notches, though he had thought they couldn't get any lower. The amazing start of the day had officially been nullified and counteracted. This day was terrible.

"Thanks", the operative muttered with as much good cheer as he could muster and slapped Kitami on the back.

At least now he had some solid information to go off other than 'he didn't show up'. Not really knowing what he was going to do next just yet, Zack trotted off. He wound up making his way around the field house, and the indoor range, which put him back on paved walkways.

Away from mass eye counts, Zack began to puzzle through everything he knew. Cloud had gotten up this morning and left looking like he was going to get ready. When the roommate finally got up, got ready, and came back to the room, Cloud's clothes were still on the bed. The roommate also didn't recall ever seeing the blond in the mess hall.

Well, it was normally best to go back to where a person was last seen. Cloud was last seen leaving his room early that morning with everything he needed to get ready for the day. Great, so Cloud left his room, which means he's not there…that did little to narrow his investigation.

'Wait', Zack thought stopping dead in his tracks, 'Cloud lays his clothes for the day out on his bed before he goes to the bathroom in the morning, according to the roommate at least. So when he first leaves the room he isn't fully dressed, which means he wouldn't be going very many places. If Cloud's clothes are still lying out on the bed that would mean he's still in the barracks…most likely.'

With his revelation Zack picked up the pace, eyes angled together in determination. He jogged around the mess hall, through the rest of the courtyard, and into the barracks. Still jogging in place, he stabbed impatiently at the call button for the elevator for all of five seconds before taking right back off in pursuit of the stairs.

Up on floor three, Zack ended up braking out into a full on run. "322…320…318", he muttered to himself as he raced by the doors, his heart beating faster and faster with each number.

"316", he breathed heavily to himself, slapping his hand over the panel for the door.

The operative, bouncing on the balls of his feet, pressed the door panel again, prompting the door to open faster. Despite his many successive button presses, the door slid open with the same timing it always produced.

Zack rushed through the door as if it had waited years. Bursting into the room, he slid to an immediate stop, hitting the light switch next to the door as he slid by.

Ignoring the rest of the room, Zack's mako blue eyes, tore over Cloud's little slice of the place. The trunk latch was up but the lid was down. The bed was tussled and unmade, and there atop the peeled back bundle of sheets and blankets sat Cloud's carefully folded set of clothes. Cloud had never returned to the room.

This wasn't right at all. The longer Zack had thought about it all, puzzling over the details, the more he disliked the situation. The more fearful and discomforted he was by the situation.

With his answer and growing unease, Zack bolted from the room and slid to a stop out in the hallway, looking up and down the hall trying to think of what direction the bathroom the blond would have used was in.

Three or four quick steps to the left, and then he changed his mind, turning back around and heading off down the right side of the passage way. Seconds after beginning his mad dash, the doorway to the bathes caught his eye and Zack made a sharp turn to the left, nearly colliding with the closed door.

In the time it took the door to open, Zack had bounced up and down more than once, which meant it had taken far too long. "Cloud", Zack cried as he slowed to a jog, raising his hands to his lips to amplify his voice.

The bathes weren't huge, but if Cloud was out of it, and obscured from view, the operative would have to be loud to reach him. Not satisfied with just simply calling out the name once, Zack continued to call out the blonde's name as he checked every changing room and looked around ever corner into each bath setup to ensure the blond youth wasn't in there.

Only after the operative was one hundred percent positive he had checked every last nook and cranny, he darted back out into the hallway shouting out Cloud's name for good measure.

Growing desperate, heart racing like he had fought an army, Zack sped further down the hallway. If he remembered correctly now, the bathroom was the last room at the end of the hall.

The end of the hall loomed up, the wall in front of the operative seeming to come out of no where. He came to a hasty halt as he waited for the door's sensors to pick him up and open.

The door rolled open, clicking over its track as it went and taking its good sweet time. The second the operative could squeeze through, he pressed himself through the widening gap, and entered the bathroom. "Cloud", Zack cried out desperately, "Cloud, are you in here? Can you hear me? Cloud!"

Like his own life depended on it, Zack began running down the line of stall doors, smashing his bare hand into the thin metal to throw the door open. Each stall turned kept turning up empty, and with each empty stall Zack's heart began to ache just a little more. The operative couldn't remember the last time he had actually cried, but the fear that Cloud was really just gone was too much for a heart that just realized how attached it was.

Every couple doors, Zack would cry out again, catching his breath as he opened the next stall. He longed desperately to hear Cloud reply, but so far nothing was answering him.

He smashed his hand into the last door, and it swung open to reveal yet another empty stall. His breath caught painfully in his throat, and he swallowed hard almost gagging. So far there was no sign of Cloud, but he wasn't done in here yet. There had been a doorway which meant more stalls or something.

Zack raced back past all the stars he had just checked and slid through the door way calling, "Cloud! Are you in here? Can you hear me?"

With no reply, the dark haired youth began the same process he had used in the first room. He slammed his hand into the first door, sending the door flying back only to reveal yet another empty bathroom stall. He managed to get through three more stall doors like this when his mako enhanced eyes picked up something the floor in the corner of his vision causing his cry to die before leaving his lips.

Eyebrows furrowed, Zack slowly walked over to the spot that had gained his attention. Stepping over the bench, his eyes locked onto small dark flecks spattered across the floor. He knelt down next to the strange marks and ran a finger tip over one of the larger flecks.

It definitely wasn't inside the floor paneling, and upon closer inspection it became clear that the spots were really a dark shade of crimson. Running finger tips over it one more time, Zack's heart near about stopped mid beat. It was blood that he was looking at and a fair amount of it too. There was no way it came from someone who nicked themselves shaving, or from any small simple cut. No it came from a full on wound like a broken nose, a heavily split lip, or some other small wound.

Zack's fear was rekindled as thoughts began poring though his head. There had been a good handful of people Zack had noticed that didn't seem to like Cloud, or seemed to wish he wasn't there. Had there been a fight? Had Cloud been seriously hurt? What if someone pulled a weapon on him and he had been unable to defend him self?

"Cloud", Zack nearly screamed as he rose to his feet, frantically looking around the room.

Panic caused Zack's chest to tighten and his throat to close up. His mouth started running dry. "Oh god Cloud, if you can hear me please answer. Please, so I know your ok", Zack cried out, voice cutting in and out, chest heaving from the panic ceasing him.

The youth mentally slapped him self. Panicking and getting all worked up wasn't going to help anything. He had to keep calm, cool, and level headed. He also had to remember that this was all assumption. He could be blowing everything out of proportion.

Just as Zack opened his eyes, after closing them to breathe deep and regain him self, muffled scraping and a whispering voice drifted into his ears. Taking a few steps forward trying to pinpoint where the sounds came from Zack asked calmly into the silence, "Cloud? Is that you?"

A sharp airy breath and a whispering voice was Zack's response. This time Zack was ready and was listening carefully for the source. The noises were coming from the far end of the stalls.

The operative leapt easily over the bench and trotted up to the last couple of stalls. He slowly pushed the first door open, but found nothing. The scraping noises echoed through the room along with long, slow breaths. They were further over.

Walking up to the second to last stall, Zack placed his hand on the cool metal door. Before he pushed it open a pained gasp and the sound of something on the heavier side hitting the floor sounded from the next stall over.

Quickly, Zack side stepped over and gently pressed on the last stall's door. It swung easily open like all the others had at first, but then the door stopped swinging in. Something was blocking the door. "Cloud", Zack called softly.

A groan answered him from behind the door. Cloud was in there. Zack had found Cloud, but the operative couldn't get excited about finding his friend. From the way Cloud sounded, something was wrong.

"Hey Cloud; I need to know if you can get clear of the door. Something's keeping it from opening all the way and I don't want to hurt you if I try forcing it open", Zack instructed with a raised voice as calmly as he could, kneeling on the ground next to the door and speaking through the few inch gap.

"I", he heard Cloud start before ending in a pained hiss.

This wasn't going to work. Cloud was having a hard time answering, and Zack didn't want to try and force to door in as long as there was a chance Cloud was what was blocking it or as long as Cloud was close enough he would be struck.

Standing, Zack pressed him self against the stall separator, trying to pear into the stall and locate Cloud. The blond youth wasn't in the far corner, which was about the only place that would get him out of reach of the door.

Glancing down Zack was able to make out pale skin, and dark grey fabric. Cloud was on the floor in front of the door. It was Cloud's body that was preventing him from getting in through the door.

How else could Zack get in there? Well, he could get the door off its hinges, that would let him get to Cloud. Unfortunately, these hinges were tricky and Zack had no tools with him, and he wasn't willing to leave Cloud alone to go get some. So that was a no go.

The door reached all the way to the ground, and the stall walls did as well. That meant climbing under the door or climbing under stall wall next to the one Cloud was in was out of the question.

'Climbing under may not be an option, but climbing over just might be', Zack realized as he pressed his forehead against the metal of the stalls.

The dark haired youth looked up. There was a few foot gap between the top of the stall doors and walls and the ceiling. Chances were he would be able to lift him self up and slide through the opening. Once through, he could easily lower himself onto the floor avoiding Cloud as he did so.

Not seeing any other options, Zack pushed open the door of the next stall over. While he normally would have felt undignified doing this, Zack stepped carefully up onto the toilet, placing one foot on each side of the seat to ensure he didn't lose his footing and fall.

Balanced and ready, the black haired youth turned his attention to the gap. He gripped the top of the wall tightly with both hands. Slowly he allowed his weight to be supported by his hands on the wall, testing it carefully before he attempted to climb over. The last thing that needed to happen was the center wall collapsing because it wasn't strong enough to support him.

The wall barely did so much as creak, so now that he knew it should support his weight, Zack pushed off the toilet and used his arms to hoist his body up. First he got his head over followed by his shoulders. At this point he was bending himself around the wall, and he slowly turned himself, bringing up the rest of his body so that it was resting half way on each side of the divider, right leg bent to act as a platform support for the rest of his lower body.

Cloud lay in a partially uncurled fetal position. His body was bare except for his sleep pants and an old green towel that was draped over the back of his neck and upwards facing shoulder.

Zack felt sure that if he stepped down onto the toilet he would be able to climb down safely and without falling on the blond. Cautiously and slowly, Zack shifted so that both his legs were over, and with the grace of a gymnast, he rebalanced and moved so that his feet ended up on the toilet seat about the same time as he pulled his head down with the rest of his body.

With nothing else standing in his way, Zack climbed down off the toilet and carefully kneeledin next to the blond. The black haired operative carefully worked one hand under the shoulder in contact with the floor and the other hand under the arm that the blond wasn't laying on so he could shift him into a sitting position, but the blonde's face contorted painfully when any pressure was applied at all.

The small blonde's pained expression was more than enough to trigger pangs of agony in the black haired youth's heart. Cloud's expression of pain caused Zack pain, and the dark haired youth wanted more than anything to help the small blond while causing him the least amount of discomfort as possible and to end the delicate angel's current suffering. Since the current approach to try and help the delicate youth was causing discomfort, the older youth ceased sitting the blond up and repositioned him on his back instead.

Original course of action now aborted, Zack tenderly, and as careful as possible, slipped his hands under the delicate bruised body, the first passing just under the closest shoulder to support the blond just above and between the shoulder blades while the second hand wrapped over and around the blonde's thin waist.

With a single, gentle, and graceful movement, Zack shifted from kneeling to sitting, pulling the bruised body into his arms, a soft groan emanating from the smaller youth. "Zack", Cloud whispered uncertainly, sounding more like he was asking a question than anything, looking up as he wearily opened his pale distant eyes, unable to keep them completely open, and letting them drift over the face of the one holding him.

"You got it", Zack answered in a hushed voice with a comforting grin, eyes closing happily to add to the effect.

Swallowing laboriously, Cloud's lips moved faintly, indicating his desire to speak. With a loud quick breath, the blond moved his lips again forming the beginning of a word, but it came out as another airy breath. The blond reopened his eyes to look directly at Zack, releasing a groan as he let his head fall against the other youth's chest.

Cloud was out of it. The few brief moments Zack had been able to look directly into the younger youth's eyes had made that clear on their own, and the younger youth's inability to speak at the moment only added to the impression. Cloud was thinking, but he was dazed and confused, his thoughts muddled leaving him unable to focus long enough to make sense of anything or to respond completely.

"It's alright. Take your time trying to talk, but you gotta stay awake. If you hit your head you could have a concussion, so I need you to promise to stay awake now. Can you promise me Cloud? Just nod or do whatever you can, you don't have to talk", Zack consoled the dazed youth in his arms.

After a few seconds, Cloud nodded slowly and stiffly in response. That was one good sign. The younger youth was there to some extent, but it would still take some time before he finished coming to.

Promise agreed to, Zack struggled on to his own feet while cradling Cloud in his arms. The candidate released a small gasp of pain as his right shoulder pressed into the tightly muscled body now carrying him, and since the pressure was not diminishing, the blonde's pale face contorted slightly in pain.

Despite how the expression ripped at Zack's heart strings, he couldn't see any way to avoid the pain he was causing his crush. Seeing as how the pained response occurred whenever any pressure was placed on the blonde's shoulders, the operative determined there was an injury to one or both of the shoulders. That being the case, he also determined that there was no way to avoid the discomfort. There wasn't any other way fro him to move Cloud, other than to carry him, and no matter how he carried the blond, there would always be pressure applied to both shoulders.

"I'm sorry I'm causing you pain Cloud. I wish I could help you without causing it, and I wish I could do more to help you right now, but I can't. And I'm sorry, I'm really sorry", Zack whispered painfully, shouldering the stall door open.

…………..

On the way to the infirmary Cloud had come almost completely around though he still seemed crippled mentally. The slightest movements seemed to cause jolts of pain for the small youth and his shallow gasps of pain seemed to becoming more frequent. As Cloud was becoming more aware and more responsive Zack had told him, "Just hold on Cloud, we're almost to the infirmary now. It's just a little further, I promise."

Cloud had responded with a breathy thanks and then winced as his body was shifted in Zack's arms. Recovering from the sharp pain that had surged through his body from his shoulder, the blond continued by whispering a breathy apology and saying something about being an inconvenience.

Zack could only flash a reassuring grin as he swore that Cloud had done no such thing, but the blond seemed to have ignored him as he took in a breath to continue speaking. "I should have been paying more attention. I could have avoided it, all of it. If only I had been more alert. I should have noticed", the pain stricken blond continued to whisper on the way up to the infirmary located in the front building, while Zack continuously tried to assure the blond it couldn't have been all his fault and that he really had been no trouble at all.

Once in the medical ward, time seemed to speed up tremendously. In no time at all, Cloud was taken from Zack's arms and brought to an examination room located through a wide sliding door at the far end of the room. The head nurse had remained behind to play twenty questions with Zack, learning as much as she could about what had happened to the youth Zack had carried in and who the youth was.

Before Zack knew it he found himself sitting in a hard seat along the white wall, facing the nurse's desk in the long thin front room of the medical ward. The minutes ticked by, although they felt like an eternity, each second taking an hour to pass. Time had slowed back down.

After decades of waiting, which Zack normally would have spent performing squats, the wide and tall sliding door slid open and a nurse walked calmly out heading for the desk. At first she didn't even realize Zack was still there, but when she finally did, which was half way back to the desk, her face donned a puzzled expression. Chewing on her bottom lip she asked sweetly, "Is there something else I can help you with?"

"Uh yea", Zack responded, lifting his eyes from the floor, though still hunched forward in his seat, "Is Clo…Is candidate Strife ok? I mean, you know, how bad are his injuries? They aren't too serious are they?"

The nurse slowly sat down in her chair behind the desk now looking as if she had just seen an elephant tap dancing. Zack redirected his eyes to the ground again, scratching the back of his head. He hadn't considered how odd the nurse would find him asking about a candidate like that. Normally, SOLDIER operatives just brought in candidates and left, but here he was waiting to ask about the candidate.

"Sorry", she whispered, then, regaining her composure as she pulled her head back, raised her eyebrows, and shookher head, continuing at a more conversational volume, "It's not every day a SOLDIER operative sticks around after brining in a candidate. I had assumed you would just leave after you finished answering all our questions. Anyway, he's fine. Well, he's pretty roughed up, but he isn't in any danger and he doesn't seem to have any permanent injuries. The worst of his injuries are his dislocated shoulder and a few cracked ribs, but he should heal up just fine."

The benevolent nurse gave the operative a kind smile before opening a manila folder, extracting a stack of papers, and began imputing information into the computer clicking in front of her. Zack licked his lips, rose silently from his seat, and glided across the room, placing his hands on the desk. With a sigh, the operative timidly asked, "Can I see him, or is he unable to receive visitors?"

"Well", the nurse started her tap dancing elephant look returning, "he isn't in critical condition and he's awake, on pain killers, but awake. So I have no problem if you visit with him. He's now in one of the regular infirmary beds instead of the examination room. I trust you can find him based on that."

She gave another sweet smile and returned to her work as soon as Zack nodded in affirmation. He removed his hands from the desk and wandered around to the sliding door directly to the right of the desk, instead of the larger door at the end of the room.

Zack had been on bed rest in this place before, so he was no stranger to the "recovery hall", as many of the operatives had named it. At first it was a wide hallway with a few individual recovery rooms. Then you would pass through a wide doorframe, entering through one of the long walls of a rectangular shaped room lined on both sides with simple box framed beds, each accompanied by foldable dividers and simplistic metal bedside tables.

The dark haired youth looked up and down the room. There were four occupants but none of them sported the trademark blond spiky hair that Zack loved so much. He continued walking strait, passing through another wide doorway, and entered an identical room to the first, except this one had no other doorway leading on to another room.

Once again, the dark haired youth looked up and down the length of the room. At the far end of the left hand side, a divider was partially unfolded, obscuring one of the beds currently in use. Seeing how none of the other three occupants resembled Cloud in any way, the operative assumed that the veiled occupant was the blond he was seeking.

Zack stepped around the light gray cloth screen to find his assumptions had been correct. There on the cloned infirmary bed was none other than Cloud. He laid quiet and still, chest rising and falling peacefully. His breathing sounded much better than it had earlier, far more even and less strained.

The light gauzy sheets covered Cloud's lithe pale body up till halfway up is carefully defined chest. Long fine bandages visibly wrapped around the exposed portion of the blonde's chest but did little to hide his beautiful shape and tone. The blonde's gently formed arms both lay out at his side above the gauzy sheets and the cream colored blanket that was folded down ending around his waist.

Cloud was resting quietly, his eyes closed, a peaceful expression set gently upon his angelic features. The dark haired youth didn't know when he would ever be able to take in such a peaceful and beautiful sight again so he went right on ahead taking the utmost advantage of it.

Zack's intense blue eyes glided over the blonde's delicate figure there on the bed. The exposed skin of the blonde's arms, neck, and face glowed beautifully in the infirmary's mellow lighting.

The operative's brow wrinkled in disappointment, a small frown tracing his smooth lips. Who ever had done this to the youth had created dark purple flaws on the blonde's pale skin. The first was located on the blond youth's slim neck. It was broken into two parts, a smaller but more intense looking circular bruise on one side of the neck, and a larger four pronged bruise on the other side of the neck. The second bruise was a large oval-ish bruise centered on the pale right forearm of the younger youth.

Seeing the inflicted flaws both angered and depressed the operative. It wasn't fair because they didn't suit the blond in the least. Based on what Zack had gathered so far, the unfitting marks had been dished out during a coward's ambush, and this angered the operative even more.

All his conclusions brought Zack to irritably wonder why Cloud had been targeted at all. As far as the older youth could tell, the blond was quiet and kept to himself, so he obviously hadn't provoked anyone…verbally. The blond was young in comparison to the other candidates, much like Zack had been, and the operative knew lasting this long was enough to piss of at least a few of the older candidates. Cloud had come across as determined making him that much more likely to succeed, but he hadn't seemed to of pulled ahead of the pack in anyway, though Zack was sure the younger youth had potential, he could just feel it.

Irritated that he couldn't reason out a full answer as to why the blond was attacked like he was, because so far any reasons Zack could think of should have only led to pushing around or bad pranks, the operative released a heavy sigh, eyes closed and brow wrinkled angrily.

"Zack", Cloud's light warm toned voice drifted up from the pillows of the infirmary bed.

"Hnh", Zack responded to hearing his name, reopening his eyes and looking back over to the simplistic bed to find Cloud looking wearily back at him. The operative kicked him self mentally for disturbing the angel's peaceful rest, and for ruining his chance to take in the sight he didn't know if he could ever see again.

"Not that I don't mind you being here but", Cloud muttered with a soft blush painting his rounded off but thin face, possibly from embarrassment Zack noted, swallowing before finishing, "uh, why are you here?"

Zack pulled back in shock that the younger youth would even bother asking that question but he decided he should have expected it. Experiences, and the words of others, had taught the blond that no one around here was going to give a flying flip about him. Although Zack had been trying to get it across that he was more than willing to associate him self with the candidate, the blond had still seemed to be in denial that any operative was willingly talking to him of their own accord.

"I'm insulted you even had to ask that", Zack answered playfully closing his eyes, turning his head away, and crossing his strong arms over his chest.

Cloud's gentle eyes lowered to take in the gauzy sheets of his bed, running his hand over the soft material mumbling, "Oh, um…sorry. I just sort of guessed someone like you, you know, a SOLDIER operative, would have something better to do than visit with someone like me."

Zack cracked an eye open at the blonde's response and quickly dropped the act, waving a hand dramatically as he explained, "I was just kidding, I'm not insulted at all. And, what do you mean by a person like you? Do you mean because you're only a candidate? 'Cause to me that really doesn't matter. A friend is friend no matter who or what they are, and I visit my friends when they're injured. So here I am."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I mean", Cloud stammered looking back up searching for the words to better explain what he meant, eventually able to explain, "What I meant was I always picture SOLDIER operatives as being busy and I just didn't expect anyone to visit, candidate, operative, or anything else."

Laughing light heartedly, Zack walked forward and ruffled the younger youth's silky blond hair. A bit of a mistake the operative soon discovered because now he didn't want to pull his hand away, but if he didn't he risked making things awkward between him and Cloud, and he didn't want to lose the blond so soon.

Forcibly, though it appeared effortless, Zack pulled his hand away as he reached back and pulled a bland, barely cushioned, seat over to the bed side, flopping gracefully down into it with a bounce. With a sigh the operative changed moods from light hearted to serious. "So, do you mind if I asked what exactly happened?"

"Oh", Cloud breathed choosing to reexamine his bed sheets like he had discovered something he had completely overlooked before in the delicate folds of the cloth.

"If you aren't up to it I understand, its ok. You don't have to if", Zack quickly started leaning forward in his seat resting a hand on Cloud's right arm only to have Cloud lookup with his beautiful blue eyes, silencing the operative.

"I…got myself into a bit of a fight in the bathroom early this morning. Couldn't get out of it and…well…I ended up getting over powered", the blond sighed miserably.

"You got your self into a fight? To me that sounds like you walked into it or did something to start it, and personally, I don't see you as the type to go purposely provoking or instigating fights", Zack countered with a raised eyebrow, eyeing the blond like a mother would eye her child when she knew she was being told a lie.

The blond sank back into his pillows, avoiding eye contact with the operative, but it didn't matter. The blond didn't have to make eye contact for the look to work its magic. Slowly, and rather softly, the younger youth amended, "I…was attacked. Some of the other candidates had followed me into the bathroom, and I failed to notice them. By the time I did realize they were there I…I was already boxed in…I couldn't run…"

There was the answer Zack had been looking for, but he had been hoping that the blond would disclose the names of his attackers or something. Unfortunately, the blond had already closed his supple thin lips, and it didn't look like he was making any effort to expand on the attack. So, the operative was going to have to push for names or descriptions if he wanted them.

"Do you remember who attacked you, or anything about them? It could be anything like what they looked like or something", Zack probed carefully.

Cloud only shook his head whispering, "There's no proof that they did it, and I don't expect anyone to just take my word for it."

"I'd believe you, even if you told me it was Sephiroth", Zack whispered before he could stop him self.

Surprisingly, Cloud had been able to hear the near inaudible whisper and no sooner did the blond begin to react to the words when Zack rushed on in a louder voice, "If you change your mind about revealing your attackers just let me know and I'll be ready and waiting to take down names and descriptions. But that aside, can you think of any reason why they'd attack you?"

Cloud again shook his head but this time it was accompanied by a sore shrug and sudden cringe from the shoulder movement. "Not really", the youth paused thinking for a moment before eventually adding, "One of them sounded pissed, and it seemed like he thought I was gaining too much attention already."

"So the attack was out of jealousy?"

"I guess, at least that's what it seemed like now that I think about it…", Cloud confirmed trailing off.

"Cloud?", Zack asked giving the blonde's arm a light shake, getting the impression that the shy youth had something else he wanted to say but lacked the conviction to come out and say it.

Surprisingly the gentle shake was enough to encourage the blond to continue with his thoughts. Eyes lowered, and far more sorrowful than they had been thus far, Cloud revealed, "I think…I think it's because I had a good week. You know, my fighting performance was up. I've had a bit of a streak going for the past week or so. Whenever I sparred I was doing really well, and I won't lie. I was really proud of my performance, and I felt like I was making great strides. But now…now I think that's why they attacked me. My streak was enough to start turning heads. I was impressing officials, and that alone is enough to gain at least a little hate from the right people…"

Cloud went quiet and Zack sat shaking his head, his tan hand, still holding the other youth's pale wrist. "Don't blame your self and don't you regret that fighters high. You did nothing wrong. Those bastards just couldn't handle it and that reveals their own weakness, so don't you cave. 'Cause you're stronger than them in more ways then one. And I swear to you right now, if you choose not to get back on your feet and to let them win, I will drag you back onto your feet myself and hold you up until you stand with your own strength again. Those bastard's are weak, pathetic, cowards and there is no way in hell I'm gunna let you be defeated by the likes of them."

As soon as the words finished spilling from his mouth, the dark haired operative felt his heart nearly stop. His words had gotten away from him, becoming far more heated and personal than he had meant to. To make it worse, his voice had grown intensity until it had become far more passionate than he had ever intended for it to become.

To make the moment even better, Zack realized he had yet to remove his hand from Cloud's wrist, and he could hear his own long heavy breaths half catching in his chest. His heart raced and his fingertips twitched, longing to run gently across Cloud's forearm. An invisible force tugged at Zack, pulling him closer to Cloud.

Slowly, Zack's internal strength faltered, his will bending to the desires within his throbbing heart. He fought him self, tooth and nail, but he was coaxed along by the sound of Cloud's breathing sinking with his own.

Only inches remained between their lips, and Zack could feel Cloud's soft breath on his own lips. He could feel the hot breaths spread a gentle stream of warm air over him, and the moisture of the others breath was clinging to him. Zack froze, lingering at that distance. One part of him was screaming for him to close the small space, but the other part of him feared what this could do.

Fear coursed through the dark haired operative's brain, becoming the only force enabling him to remain in control of him self. For all he knew, Cloud wasn't looking away or reacting because he was in shock, and if that was the case actually kissing him could be a death sentence for their friendship. There was also the possibility that the pain killers had the blond in a fog, in which case he may not be fully comprehending what was about to happen.

Achingly, Zack pulled away from the blond, sitting up in his chair once more. A heavy blush spread uncontrollably across the operative's tanned cheeks, and he found he lacked the strength to suppress it. This was all too much. He had gotten away from him self and his mask, his composure, had been lost from him.

He needed to get away from the situation for a while. He didn't want to leave the blonde's side, but he assured him self all he needed was an hour to regain control and then he could return to visit the beautiful youth.

"I'm sorry", the operative found him self muttering as he stood, releasing Cloud's wrist as he stood.

Cloud's soft skin slipped by the operative's finger tips. Zack shivered wishing the contact didn't have to end but he needed to regain him self and the contact would not allow him to do that. The warmth of the other slipped away from the operative, causing his heart to beat longingly in his aching chest.

Zack turned away from the delicate figure on the bed, and retreated from the medical ward all together. He soon found himself aiding one of the officers out of the training field with the candidates. The physical exertion was welcome and the distraction did wonders for recovering all self control. After all, martial arts and fighting in general practically revolved around self control and self discipline.

Later that evening, the dark haired youth wandered back into the medical ward, confident he had him self back under control. His heart sunk when he found Cloud out cold; most likely lulled into the deep sleep by the heavy pain killers he had been given.

Knowing it would be some time before the blond came back around, if he was indeed out with the aid of medication, Zack returned to the nurse's desk at the front of the medical ward and borrowed a sheet of paper and a pen, scrawling a quick note onto the blank sheet, and then returned to the delicate blonde's bedside.

Unwilling to leave so soon, the dark haired youth seated himself next to the bed in the chair that had remained unmoved after its use earlier that day. The operative chuckled quietly. 'Normally I can't hold still to save the life of me, and here I am sitting still. Not just being still but sitting. I guess I should take this to me I definitely feel something for him', Zack mused to him self.

With a heavy, and distant, sigh, Zack rose from his seat and dropped the folded over note onto Cloud's bedside table, Cloud's name in large messy but flowing letters written across the upwards facing side of the note.

Zack lingered a few moments longer before finally turning and walking away quietly. He smiled gently to him self, feeling considerably cheerful at the thought that there was a chance the first thing Cloud would do when he woke up in the morning would be read from him.

..............

The next morning, Cloud woke up and spent the first few minutes staring blankly at the ceiling before looking over hoping to find something more interesting to stare at, or at least count because the ceiling tiles were currently blurring together in Cloud's sight making it impossible to count them. Over, on his bed side table was a sheet of folded up white paper.

Sorely, Cloud pushed him self up on an elbow and reached for the note, fingers stretching out to reach the sheet. His finger tapped the edges of the paper, almost closing around the thin item, but he had flinched causing his fingers to jerk back out of reach of the paper.

He reached back out, closing his fingers on a folded edge. As he collapsed back onto his bed, pulling the note back, he was able to make out his name written in blown up letters on the face. Flipping the note open, Cloud read, with a little difficulty at first:

"_Hey Cloud,_

_Sorry I ran out on you earlier, but I remembered there was something I had to take care of or I probably would have died…in one way or another anyway. But I just want you to know I really felt bad just leaving you here by yourself after everything I said. You know, about how I always visit my friends. I feel sort of hypocritical for cutting my visit short like that._

_Anyway, I stopped by again…well, I guess you could sort of figure that out on your own. I mean I'm leaving you a note. Man, now I'm just sounding like an idiot so I'm just going to wrap this up._

_Rest up and get better soon, and promise me (even though I'm not there right now) that you aren't going to let this defeat you. I just can't shake the impression that you have a lot of potential. On top of that I remember you saying that it was sort of a dream of yours to join SOLDIER, and I'd hate to see you throw that dream away, to see you give up. What I was always told, and am now passing on to you, is this: Never lose sight of your dreams._

_Zack"_

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**A/N: **And this concludes the chapter, and don't you just hate me right about now? Don't lie, I have a feeling your at least a little mad at me. But, before you ritualistically sacrifice me allow me to say this; No worries, something will actually happen between Cloud and Zack eventually. Why else would I have tagged this as a romance? ^^

That aside, I now ask you to press the button below, the one that contains the word "review". Why? Because I am a writer and reviews are amazing. They are the thing that keeps me going.

So please, click the button and tell me what you think. Tell me what you liked, what yo didn't like, or offer constructive criticism. All of that stuff is good. This time I would also like to pose a question, and I leave it up to you whether you want to answer or not. What is your favorite part of the story so far? What is your favorite part of this chapter?

Chapter 4 is underway and I would like to say you can expect to see it sometime within the next week and a half. Until then, happy reading!


	4. Ch 4: Dreams and Reality

**A/N: **Well, it looks like I lied...because it isn't Monday or Tuesday. It's Friday of the week before I said I would most likely get the next chapter up, and here it is, Chapter four. Hope this has made at least a few people happy.

But before we continue I have something very important I would like to point out. In chapter one I know I made Cloud fifteen when he signed up for Shinra. The thing is for an idea to work I have to change this, so instead of being fifteen at the beginning Cloud is now sixteen instead, which makes Cloud seventeen currently. Did everybody get that, **_I have made a change to Cloud's age. He is now sixteen when he signs up making him seventeen right now!_**Thank you. (I have edited chapter one, so if you started reading this fic after I posted this chapter you kind of aren't affected by the change.)

**Disclaimer: **As always I am admitting that I do not own Crisis Core, Final Fantasy 7, or any of the characters from either game. (At least some of the characters in here are mine. Just sadly, Cloud and Zack aren't among them T_T) Anyway, I now give you chapter four!!

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Ch 4: Dreams and Reality

The time spent in the medical ward had been painfully dull, but fortunately Cloud had always been a relatively fast healer. His fast recovery rate combined with SOLDIER's advanced healing technology made for a reduced stay within the white walls of the ward, but all the same, Cloud had been ready to scream from the confinement.

There had been nothing to do besides sleep, which he had done a lot of at first, and read. That was it. It wasn't like the nurses, or the doctor, were going to let him get up and run around. Walks were fine but he was still confined to the ward when he did, and there wasn't much to see. So eventually even the walks did very little to keep Cloud sane.

Fortunately, Zack would visit almost every day bringing with him all the cheer in the world. Cloud had never been one to sit there and grin over much of anything, but Zack never failed to make him smile.

Each day, as the afternoon rolled by, Cloud would await the sound of boots clapping on the hard floor of the ward, which would be in stark contrast to the sound of the doctor's dress shoes and the low heels of all the nurses. It was a welcomed sound that never failed to lift Cloud's spirits.

Sometimes Zack would sneak in some of his favorite treats, scanning the entire room for any sign of the medical staff before pulling them from one of his oversized pant pockets.

Finally after a few weeks of seeing nothing of the world but the endless white walls of the ward, Cloud was told he was close to being released from the staff's care and would be deemed ready to return to training when he was released.

On the morning of his release, Cloud was itching to run for the door, to leave the dull world behind, but a nurse had made it clear he would leave when they said he could leave. At her declaration, the blond sunk back into his pillows miserably, digging his fingers into his sheets. He wanted out, and he wanted out now. Not that afternoon, but now.

The nurse watched the candidate's response to her carefully and laughed lightly at his version of a temper tantrum. "Relax; I was going to make a deal with you. You actually finish the breakfast we bring you and you can go the second I see that it's gone", she offered with a coy smile.

Cloud eyed the nurse wearily. The deal sounded good but he knew when it came to breakfast, he could never finish what they put in front of him. It wasn't that he was trying to be picky or anything, it was just he had never been able to eat a whole lot in the morning. So if he wanted to take the deal he would have to practically stuff himself.

He sighed and looked away from the nurse, his eyes settling on the stupid white walls that were driving him crazy. The deal was definitely starting to sound good; one morning of stuffing himself for his freedom.

So, Cloud agreed to the nurse's deal. He would finish his breakfast, no matter what it was, and as soon as the nurse took his tray he would be free to leave.

…………..

One month, three weeks and one day. That was how long Cloud had been a candidate for SOLDIER now. Each weekday he had risen just before the sun, trained hard, and battled to prove him self.

Each day, Cloud had watched as at least a few more were sent away, heads hung low in defeat and exhaustion. Each day he had watched the numbers dwindle a little bit more, watched the elimination of men years older than him. But here he was still a candidate and still going strong despite the incident that ended a little more than a week and a half ago.

On his release from the medical ward, Cloud had been sure he was going to be handed a note telling him he was cut. Another possibility he had expected was that he would return to the practices, having fallen behind because of his time spent recovering, only to end up getting cut mere days later as opposed to right off the bat. But neither one ever happened.

Even though his feeling of certainty had been wrong about this, there was one thing he knew he absolutely couldn't be wrong about. Zahawk and his followers couldn't possibly be happy in the least that he, the pathetic baby of the group, was still around, even after their kind tutorial on how to take pain.

Cloud was determined to come across as unfazed and as determined as ever to succeed, but he would be lying if he didn't admit that he had been rather shaken by the whole incident. He always felt on edge when he was alone, and he couldn't bring him self to go to the bathroom alone in the mornings anymore. To avoid going alone, Cloud simply decided to get up a few minutes later and wait for Kitami and Shin.

He had two other roommates he could technically go with, but he wasn't comfortable with either of them. The first roommate was simply because Cloud didn't really know him. The distant man rarely interacted with Cloud thus leading to the very little being known and his unease.

Cloud was more than just uncomfortable about being alone with the second roommate, other than Kitami and Shin, and he had his reasons. The primary reason was that the second roommate was Tory, a young man that had been there when he was attacked, and he was the same young man who had dislocated his shoulder. Actually that fact was probably the only reason Cloud was so uncomfortable being alone with the young man, because before the attack Tory had made the impression of being a rather nice guy, quiet and serious, but nice.

Though he feared Tory to some extent, he didn't fear him as mush as the others that had decided to beat him up. Tory had only injured the blond to avoid being hospitalized him self, and he had made it clear at the time that he never wanted to do it. Jade eyes had been furious when he was forced to dislocate the shoulder, with no sign of any pleasure at the action.

Tory had also made it clear that anything he would do to Cloud would be during one of the sparring matches, which were always held in front of others. But still, Cloud couldn't help but be uneasy with the young man. Why? Because out of all the attackers, Tory was most capable of throttling him, and singlehandedly.

Cloud sighed wearily as he rubbed his heavy lidded eyes. It was hot and they had been practicing combat for the past few hours. This training always wore the blond out the fastest, and the intensity always left his limbs limp later in the evening.

"Strife, Himora, your up", one of the officers called out glancing through a packet clipped to his clipboard that held all the sparring data, which included who had faced who and how many times.

The young candidate groaned at the announcement. So far he had managed to avoid sparring Candidate Himora, but his luck had finally run out.

Reluctantly, Cloud rose from the ground, dragging his broad sword up with him since he had taken it out of its sheath on his back so he could sit more comfortably. He shuffled his way through the dirt to the marked off ring leaving his spot under the owning behind.

From the shade along the wall past the far side of the temporary ring, strode a silver haired candidate, twin daggers in there sheaths attached to the dark brown belt about the candidate's waist.

'Relax, you can do this. You're fine. Tory can't do anything too severe to me here, not with the instructors present. So the worst that can happen is that I lose, that's it', Cloud attempted weakly to comfort himself, his resolve shaky as fear tipped his thoughts, 'I don't think he'd try anything at least, but what if I'm wrong? What if he is the type to try something? What if losing to him means the medical ward for me?'

Panic was settling in and Cloud felt his palms begin to sweet and his heart pound frantically in his throat. If any of the men who disliked him had the ability and the intelligence to harm him in front of other people without getting caught, it was Tory. The ironic thing about the whole situation playing out was Cloud had yet to face any of his other attackers in the ring. Tory was the first, and the most capable at beating him senseless without brining the wrath of the superiors down on him. The greater powers of this world had some sense of humor.

Though the day had started out nicely it had gone south in a matter of seconds. There was no way this was going to end well and Cloud knew it. His only hope at salvaging anything about his day was to perform at his absolute best. There was no room for any mistakes, no matter how small.

"Hajime", the judging officer called, but Cloud didn't notice due to his state of panic.

The only reason the petite candidate figured out the match had begun was because one second Tory was standing at the far end of the ring and then the next second, almost literally, he was within striking distance.

Cloud's heart leapt in fear as a dull, but hard, training dagger raced towards his torso at a speed somewhere close to the speed of light. The blonde's feet were frozen to the ground, unresponsive, though he wished desperately that they would move.

At the last second, he twisted at the hips, the dagger soaring past his torso missing him by centimeters. Although he had dodged the initial attack, Cloud knew he wasn't out of danger just yet. Another attack would be following it instantly, and although his action had been enough to save him the first time, it would certainly not be enough to save him a second time. He would have to move from the spot he was in unless he wanted to take a rock solid strike to the body, or worse, the head.

Tory flipped the single dagger he was using around so that the blade ran the length of his lower arm. Head on wouldn't hit at this time, but slashes just might if the blond was planning to hold his ground.

Again Cloud dodged but only just barely. He could feel the dull edge streak by his shirt, grazing it. Speed was definitely Tory's strongest point, and a strong point like that was going to be hard to defend against seeing as his own strong point was speed as well. Unfortunately, he was sorely out done in that area by the silver haired speed demon, and, unfortunately for a fighter, having your strongest point made null and void left you at a slight disadvantage.

If he wanted to strike, he was going to have to let Tory get in close. The only problem with this was that he didn't know how hard the silver haired candidate's strikes would be and where he would target. Sure, the other candidate didn't focus on power or anything, but his technique made up for it. Every move was precise, and much of the other youth's body movement was meant to enhance the power level of the attacks.

But at this point there were no other options presenting themselves to the blond. He was going to have to make the sacrifice, and he had no choice but to take the risk. Hopefully, Tory's hits would be to a degree that Cloud could recover from them. If not…then the blond was in trouble. A speed demon landing one hit opened the door to a rapid succession of blows.

The two danced about the ring, Cloud dodging and Tory always attacking. The blond looked carefully for an opening to present itself but none ever revealed them selves. He had to close in and soon, because he knew it was more luck than anything that Tory hadn't landed a blow.

Cloud shifted his stance forward preparing to go on the offensive, but only too late. Tory picked up on the movement and moved to counter the same second. Being the faster of the two, Tory's blow slammed into Cloud's chest and all the air the blond held in his longs was forced from him painfully. Thankfully the officer had called yame, halting Tory's follow up attack mid strike, to insure the candidate was alright.

Staggering back, Cloud struggled to stay standing, his head somehow spinning from the blow that had landed no where near his head. Probably having something to do with the lack of air his body contained at the moment, he eventually concluded.

Gasping for air, and fighting to control his frantic breathing, Cloud straitened up, drawing his sword back up into the ready position. "Hajime", the officer belted out once more.

This time Cloud was listening and ready, but it didn't feel like the awareness had helped in the least. Once again, Tory had come up faster than Cloud could react to, and again only luck saved the blond.

Once again the two candidates fell into a tedious dance. The blond blocked and dodged desperately searching for his chance to turn the tides, and the silver haired demon kept his assault strong and rapid.

Getting lucky for another minute, Cloud concluded that there was no opening at this point in time. He would have to resort to his initial plan of letting Tory come in for a strike and pray that he was able to turn the attack around.

The life stream was on the delicate blonde's side. Tory came in fast and hard from the right. Cloud turned so that his back practically faced his opponent head on and reached back with his sword so that it ran the length of his back. The move had been just in time, because as soon as Cloud reached back with his blade, he heard the clashing sound of blade on blade.

Not wanting to lose the moment, the blond quickly slid his sword up past the dagger, pushing Tory off balance, as the demon's weapon was pushed forcefully in the opposite direction it had been intended to go in. Once clear of the staggered opponent's weapon, Cloud turned his momentum into a hard sweeping swing, circling around to slap his blade over Tory's newly exposed left shoulder and shoulder blade, the momentum of his swing close to contact slowed on purpose to avoid having a foul called on him. Unfortunately Cloud failed to pull the blow enough and the officer called yame once more, preventing him to follow his strike up.

Breathless, Tory fell forward landing with a loud thud on his hands and knees, kicking up a dusty cloud of fine dirt from the ground and into his face. The silver haired dagger wielder staid down, coughing and gagging, for a few seconds, his chest rising and falling rapidly as his body panicked to breath.

With a grunt, Tory pushed himself up from the ground, carefully getting to his feet. Half bent over the speed demon shot the blond an intensely heated glare. Just like back in the bathrooms, jade eyes were burning with the intensity of a blacksmith's flame. Tory was pissed.

Dread filled Cloud's chest, his heart pounding furiously but painstakingly slow. The blond had a terrible feeling that Tory had much more up his sleeve, and that the other candidate was about to kick it up a notch.

Like before the officer in charge called "hajime" and the two candidates flexed their muscles, throwing themselves into the fray. But this time, Tory did not come flying in at Cloud. Instead the speed demon rushed forward but offset him self just before reaching striking distance. This time the two young men danced about each other trying to coax the other in taking quick swings followed by hasty retreats. The speed demon wasn't about to let the blond use his tactic again, and the blond lacked the confidence to rush his faster opponent.

The two exchanged blows rapidly over the next few minutes. Each would attack, the other would dodge or parry, and then the one on the defensive would counter attack. Sometimes it was the attacker who pulled out victorious, other times it was the defender, and still other exchanges both youth's would pull away from the other un-hit.

The officer's hand went up signaling the final sixty seconds of the match since both fighters were still, more or less, standing tall. Neither had scored an excessive number of hits, and there were still plenty of candidates that needed to get into the ring, otherwise the officer would have had no problem letting the two continue the match. It had been the most spirit he had seen yet.

Tory's jade eyes flared in intensity and Cloud couldn't help but feel that what he had dreaded from the beginning was about to come true. At first the speed demon was in front of Cloud closing the distance fast in a rush attempt to score one last strong blow, but the next thing Cloud knew his whole world was spinning and the ground was rushing up underneath him.

In the split seconds before, Cloud had felt his side give way painfully, a malevolent throb seducing his lower torso, and causing him to collapse forward into him self. No sooner was the blonde's body reacting to the pain in his side then he felt something slam into his back like a baseball bat, followed instantly by a vicious blow to the base of his head.

Senses over loaded, the blond crashed limply into the ground, the back of his head striking the hard earth painfully. His vision swam, and the sun's intense rays flared before his hazy eyes.

The blond took in a strangled breath, as his lungs struggled to expand, his back aching from the routine movement. Once the breath was in, the blonde's lungs refused to deflate, the air catching agonizingly in his chest.

The captive breath hissed from his lips, and then the blond fought to take in another rattling breath. His head throbbed harder and harder, and his vision pulsed uncontrollably, the world growing insanely bright and then dipping off, all the colors meshing and fading. And then, he was out cold.

Tory stood, chest heaving and eyes still aflame from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. His light bronze skin was coated in a thin layer of glossy sweat that glistened across his chest with every breath. Shoulders rising and falling in unison with his chest, Tory closed his eyes as he commenced the process of slowing his body back down.

A medical officer rushed out into the arena, sliding to a knee as he came up alongside the unconscious blond. The man grabbed the youngest candidate's wrist, placing his forefinger and middle finger over the bright blue veins showing clearly through the pale skin.

He soon dropped the blonde's wrist and held his hand over the candidate's mouth. After a few seconds the man sighed looking over at the head officer and nodded to indicate that the blond was only just out cold.

The same second the medical officer indicated the non-severity of the youth's condition; Zack came sliding to a halt by the youth's side. The black haired youth cupped a hand over the candidate's cheek, his thumb just over the lips, as his mako enhanced eyes attentively watched the rise and fall of the chest.

"He's fine", the medical officer ensured Zack in a calm cool tone that only doctors can pull off in almost every situation.

"But that blow to the head", the dark haired youth argued.

"Relax; it wasn't as hard as you think. Candidate Himora only used a pressure point, and based on my examination thus far, he didn't cause any injury", the man calmly explained, cutting of Zack's next argument by answering, "Sure Candidate Strife's breathing is a little labored but yours would be to if you were hit square in the center of the back like that. If you don't believe me I'm sure Candidate Himora is more than capable of duplicating the strike."

Zack could only pout, dissatisfied by the medical officer's lack of concern. Cloud, the beautiful angel of the group, was lying unconscious on the ground. The officer shouldn't be just writing it off so easily, but then again maybe it was Zack that was acting in the unnecessary manner. The officer was the trained medical personal after all, and Zack wasn't. This meant that the dark haired youth's feelings may not be quite as accurate as the older man's kneeling on the opposite side of his crush.

The dark haired youth sighed, defeated by the other man's expertise. "If you say so, then… I believe you. After all, you are the medical professional, and my knowledge practically ends at bleeding is bad", Zack admitted dully at first then transitioning into one of his signature grins, his tone becoming far lighter.

With the medical officer's approval, Zack tenderly lifted the unconscious angel into his arms and carried him off towards the dark blue tent set up a couple yards away at the center point of the fighting rings that had two of its sides tied up in the center creating a fabric archway.

In the tent there were two different long tables, one extending inward from each entrance towards the center of the tent, a six foot gap separating them, each holding a large round gray cooler filled with water as well as various basic medical supplies. Around on the other side of the two tables were a small collection of simple pallets spaced evenly apart from one another.

Shifting Cloud in his arms, Zack made his way around the tables, and glanced over the palettes, scrutinizing each one. The youth picked out a palette set back into the corner that had no sun light shining through the archway onto it. Just as tenderly as Zack had picked the unconscious angel up, he lowered the pale blond onto the chosen palette.

Cloud now comfortably situated on the palette, Zack flopped backwards to sit on the ground next to him, knees pulled up and arms resting across his knees. He sighed as his eyes settled on Cloud's delicately formed face. Once again the blond was lying serenely before him and like before, the dark haired youth could feel his heart race in his chest.

He licked his lips, tipping his head to look down at the ground, and scratched the back of his head. He couldn't get over how attractive the blond was. There were times when the blonde's striking features drove the older youth mad, but the older youth still couldn't bring him self to act on his feelings.

Cloud had already become dear to Zack, so dear, that Zack was willing to stay just friends if it meant keeping the blond by his side. He longed for the blond to be more, but he didn't want to risk losing him. Having the shy youth be more than a friend was mind numbing, but the thought of scaring him off terrified Zack. So the operative had thus far opted to refrain from making any moves on the younger youth.

But here the blond was, taunting him, all though unintentionally, but he was taunting Zack all the same. Cloud's very presence and manner at this time was overwhelming, and it was testing the older youth's restraint tremendously.

If Zack could just keep his eyes on the ground until the sensation in his chest passed he would be able to maintain control of him self, but his eyes betrayed him, flickering up to look at the blond on the edge of his vision. Eyes fixed on the delicate face, the older youth lifted his head to gain a better view, brining the angel from his peripheral vision to the center.

Zack's breath caught in his throat and even though this had been happening more and more recently, he still couldn't get over the feeling. His whole body was covered in a cold wave, a light sensation spreading to every limb. His heart fluttering softly as the blond stirred but didn't wake.

It was all too much. Zack had never felt like this about any one before and here he was trying to fight him self. Trembling lightly Zack leaned forward, brining a knee down to kneel on, placing trace amounts of pressure on his hands, which he had placed in front of him to act as supports. After a few seconds he slowly lowered him self on to his forearms, lips brushing lovingly over the blonde's soft lips.

He couldn't do this. It was too risky, but at the same time he wanted to more than he wanted to become a SOLDIER first class, which was saying something considering that had been his number one dream for years.

It wasn't too late, the dark haired youth could still pull away, ending this moment right now, but he felt as if his strength had fled from him. At least, he had the strength to hold him self there, but as for pushing him self back up…that was another story. His body felt as heavy as lead and his muscles quivered the second he tried to use them to sit up.

Unable to resist any longer, and unable to run away from what he had let him self start, Zack closed his eyes and extinguished the almost nonexistent gap between his lips and Cloud's, warmth spreading over his entire mouth as soon as he made contact. A wave of heat rushed over the operatives face and his heart soared, beating long and hard.

Zack pulled away utterly amazed he had actually done that. Shoulders rising and falling more noticeably than normal, the operative touched the index and middle finger on his right hand to his lips. They felt warmer than normal.

Eyes half open in ecstasy, Zack watched as Cloud stirred giving a breathy sigh, lips parted ever so slightly. Now that the operative had gotten a taste he wanted nothing more than to lean back in to kiss the blond tenderly once more.

Before Zack's brain gave into the blissful sensation holding his body captive, a forced cough crashed through into Zack's limited little world. The operative's heart skipped a beat at the sudden sound, and he fell backwards throwing his hands out behind him to keep from falling flat on his back.

Heart in his throat, Zack swallowed dryly, and with eyes drawn shut; he slowly turned his head in the direction of the sound. 'Oh please tell me it was a figment of my imagination. Please let it turn out that I'm just really paranoid right now. Let no one be there', Zack pleaded with the fates that watched over his life…or at least controlled the random events that seemed to plague him every day.

Warily, the dark haired youth opened his vibrant blue eyes. Once they were fully open he scanned for any sign of an actual person being there. At first nothing grabbed the operative's attention and he let his shoulders relax, releasing a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. But the youth had relaxed too soon.

Almost at the same time he released his breath, Zack's eyes skimmed over a pair of dark brown leather combat boots accompanied by dark blue clad legs. He shrank back into himself at the sight and slowly let his eyes wander up the pair of legs as he slowly lifted his head.

His eyes skimmed briefly over the table and then a torso, also clad in blue but more tightly, entered his line of vision. He hadn't just been hearing things. There was no denying that someone was there. The option of "simply paranoid" went flying out the window like Zack's first set of room keys had when he had accidently left them on the window sill and then leaned back only to send them tumbling five stories down, narrowly missing a high ranking official.

'Fates that be, please tell me whoever this is didn't see that. Or at least tell me they couldn't tell what I was doing from where they are. Or even tell me that they are too spacey to have realized what I did', Zack pleaded anew to the fates that were most certainly laughing at him about now.

Sucking in a breath, Zack forced his eyes to travel the rest of the way up the figure. To his surprise the operative discovered the mystery cough had been produced by none other than Kunsel, his good friend. Normally if a person discovered the random element in a situation was their good friend would have relaxed, relived by the identity of the person. Zack, however, was not relieved by this fact…at all.

'Shit, tell me Kunsel didn't see that! If he did please just make him suffer random memory loss of the past fifteen minutes… just to be safe', Zack pleaded more urgently to the fates he was beginning to hate with every second this drama continued.

"Guilty much? 'Cause you sure look like you're feeling guilty right about now", Kunsel asked sarcastically.

'Damn he saw me do it', Zack cursed, condemning the fates and feeling betrayed by the life stream because it didn't help him get out of this mess.

"Why in the world would I look guilty right now if I didn't do anything? If I have the concept down, you have to do something first before you can feel guilty", Zack countered, playing dumb in the hopes his friend would drop it.

As soon as a tenacious smile spread across Kunsel's neutral lips, Zack knew his attempt at passing the situation over had failed. Kunsel was not going to simply drop it. "You're lying through your teeth Zack. And yes, I can tell", Kunsel replied putting his hands up as he shrugged and shook his head, "So why don't you just give up and tell me when uh…this development occurred."

"Uh, well", Zack mumbled looking for the right words to say before finally speaking up hesitantly, "A couple weeks ago, or…technically, a day or so after I met him. But I didn't figure out that I was falling for him until just before he was jumped."

"Oh good", Kunsel sighed, pretending to wipe sweat away from his face, "I was gunna say you move really fast, but it sounds like you at least waited a little while before you made your move. So how did you tell him you liked him?"

"Made…my move", the black haired operative repeated slowly, biting his lip and lowering his eyes to the ground, before answering, "I haven't exactly…told him how I feel just yet."

Kunsel's mouth steadily fell open slightly, raising both eyebrows, as he watched Zack's reaction to his last statement and processed the answer. "Zack…you aren't with Cloud are you? Because it's kind of hard to date someone, especially another guy, without telling them you like them first", Kunsel responded sluggishly, only now fighting the shock of seeing his best friend kiss another guy.

"Yea…I have to agree with you there. It really would be hard to date someone without revealing that you liked them", Zack agreed with a light hearted smile, praying that the conversation would just magically change topics.

"So you're telling me he doesn't even know how you feel about him and you kissed him?! And while he's unconscious?! Tell me you know where you stand in his book now because last time we spoke about this guy you told me you didn't even know if he fully considered you a friend yet", Kunsel cried in disbelief, voice growing a little too loud for comfort for Zack.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Zack noticed the pale blond stirring, most likely from Kunsel's loud outburst due to shock and disbelief. "Shhh", the dark haired operative hissed as quietly as he could, raising his hands in a desperate attempt to silence his friend.

Kunsel was looking down obviously still trying to make sense of his friend and didn't see the desperate gesture. The younger operative continued to wave his hands dramatically trying to keep the other from starting up again, but he just wasn't getting through. It was starting to look like Cloud was going to wake up to a rather interesting conversation.

Out of all the ways for Cloud to find out Zack liked him; this was not one of the ways Zack had wanted for it to happen. Dead set on making sure his feelings weren't divulged in this eccentric manner, Zack lunged under the table, grabbing hold of one of Kunsel's ankles as he started to say something rather loudly about telling the blond.

With a quick jerk, the older operative tumbled backwards, falling onto his backside with a short yelp. He sat up slowly, rubbing a shoulder with one hand and supporting him self with the other. "What did you do that…", the other operative began before Zack threw a hand over his mouth.

The glare was all Zack got for his actions, and this time it meant if you don't give me a real good reason for why you're doing this, I am going to bite your hand because there would be no reason for it to be over my mouth.

"I'm sorry", whispered Zack apologetically, "but you wouldn't cool it. You were just being so loud, and you were waking Cloud up, 'cause it seems he's getting close to coming around. And…and I didn't want you blabbing my feelings to him."

After a few tense seconds, Kunsel's expression relaxed, and he shrugged, silently telling Zack "sounds reasonable enough to me".

The dark haired youth sighed heavily. Whispering, the youth asked, "Am I right in guessing that you aren't just going to let this go? 'Cause if that's the case, I'll happily go with you somewhere we could talk in private, instead of staying here where we risk being overheard by way too many people and, more importantly, Cloud."

His friend nodded in agreement, and stood the second Zack's hand was gone from his mouth, remaining quiet as a mouse the entire time. Zack sighed, glancing back at the unconscious blond that was most likely in more of a sleep like state now. He wanted to stay, but if he wanted Kunsel to stay quiet he would have to talk everything out with his friend…and then make the man swear to keep his mouth shut.

Though, the dark haired youth wasn't entirely sure making Kunsel swear to stay quiet was going to do any good. Because everyone knew that Kunsel was a walking source of all information under the sun, and that pretty much made it obvious that the man loved to talk, spreading his vast knowledge to anyone who would listen. This was potentially problematic, but it was too late now. Kunsel knew and there was no taking it back.

Depressed, and kicking an overly sized pebble and stuffing his hands in his pockets as he went, Zack followed after his friend who obviously had somewhere in mind that they could talk. Just before exiting the tent, he glanced back one more time at the blond, and then followed reluctantly after Kunsel.

…………..

Cloud slowly rocked his head back and forth a few times before finally opening his eyes. Instead of the bright glare of the sun that he was expecting, the blond was pleasantly surprised to find him self staring up at a thick blue cloth ceiling that was waving gently, creating a rippling effect much like water.

He groaned placing a cool hand over his own forehead. His head was absolutely pulsing with pain, creating a headache that he hoped he would never experience again. Unfortunately the pulsing waves of pain weren't the only source of discomfort.

A spot on his neck, just at the base of his head, felt as if he had fallen and hit his head on a somewhat pointed rock. He reached back with the hand that had been over his forehead and rubbed the sore spot gently.

The light contact was enough to send a short twinge flying through his nerves causing him to clench one eye closed in pain from the low level of pressure. There was now no doubt in the youth's mind that there was a deep bruise at the base of his skull.

He released a heavy sigh and carefully sat up. At first his head spun with the change in elevation, but within a few seconds his world stopped waving about like some sort of psychedelic dream.

"This is pathetic", Cloud mumbled to himself, brushing his own bangs out of his face, "Knocked out again, and unfortunately this time I only had one opponent to worry about…"

Cloud's memory soared back to the moments right before his world went black, returning only a minute or so ago. The recent memory soon faltered and another older memory replaced it.

Closing his eyes, he blond could practically relive the memory as if it was happening to him right this second. He was lying flat on his stomach, face against the cold tiled floor. _A foot pressed painfully into his shoulder and he chocked back a cry. The pressure was increased and he cried out in pain, unable to stop it thus satisfying a sadists desires. _

_A hand closed around his throat. He could feel the pressure building around his windpipe just like it had that day, and he recalled the burning of his lungs. The hand released him and he could physically recall the rush of air into his body._

_His back and head surged with a wave of pain in unison, as a cold hard surface slammed into him._ Cloud physically winced as he recalled each blow on his body. The very spots he was hit in became sore as he continued to relive the attack.

With a shiver, Cloud forced himself to reopen his eyes. The memory still haunted him and even went so far as to torment him in his dreams a few times. It had been one of the worst days of his life so far, and he had given up all hope of ever being able to physically forget the trauma.

Already set in motion by practically completely reliving his attack, Cloud began to recall other events that followed, the first of which were of Zack. As far as the blond could recall, Zack had been the one to find him and ended up carrying him all the way to the medical ward. The trip there was fuzzy and he couldn't quite recall everything that was said.

The haze didn't stop with the time in which Zack was carrying him. It also translated over to a bulk of the rest of that day. He had been rushed into an examination room where a doctor had looked him over, though he couldn't recall anything but human like figures in white and light colored walls.

The next thing he could recall was Zack coming up to his bedside and talking with him. They had discussed, sort of, the details of what had happen. If the youth remembered correctly, he was asked for names and he refused to tell the dark haired youth. If he remembered correctly he had also refused to give any descriptions, originally made it out to sound as if he had the attack coming, and then explained why he thought the men hated him.

The conversation beyond that point became almost completely obscured. The blond youth knew the other youth had continued speaking with him, but he couldn't remember any of what had been said. And then he had fallen asleep or lost consciousness, one of the two.

And then it came rushing back to him, a dream that kept after him more persistently than the memory of the attack. Cloud had tried to push it from his mind to keep from getting distracted, but no matter what he tried he couldn't push it from his mind whenever it wanted to make it self the front of his thoughts.

_Zack's hand was over Cloud's wrist and he was leaning forward in his chair so that his face was over Cloud's. Only inches remained between their lips, and the dark haired youth's breath was brushing over his parted lips. Their hot breaths were mingling together, and he could fell the moisture gathering on his lips, practically letting him taste the other youth. _

_The other youth began to slowly lean a little closer and then he froze for some unknown reason, lingering only inches away. Cloud's heart pushed painfully against his ribs as it beat harder than it ever had._

_And then, Zack pulled away. There was a soft whisper from somewhere near the end of the bed, and then the dream had wavered, quickly turning dark like whenever he passed out._

Cloud shuttered as the sensation from the dream flowed back through his body. It was an amazing feeling but it was over whelming. The sensation had revisited him before, including less convenient times, like during drills or while walking down hallways where there were doors on hinges that swung out…into the hall where he could easily be struck down for lack of awareness.

This was driving the blond nuts. He couldn't control the feeling and it always plagued him right after recalling that dream of Zack. What made it all worse was that sometimes he didn't even have to recall the dream for the sensation to rack his body. In fact, most of the time all it took was Zack being there and looking over at him. Then Cloud would fall apart inside, the sensation would run him over, and then sometimes, meaning a majority of the times, he would end up having to look away or turn his back to his dark haired friend to hide the furious blush that formed.

Falling back against the pillow of the pallet, Cloud clenched his eyes shut as the feeling intensified. All his frustration at being so out of control of himself vanished as he suddenly recalled a dream. A new dream that, like the one that was driving him up the wall, was about Zack.

_The taste Cloud had tasted during the first dream of Zack filled his mouth, spreading slowly in through his lips. He could feel long heated breaths cascade over his lips and surrounding skin._

_Something warm and soft brushed by his lips, and he could feel his heart throbbing in response from the gentle touch. A wet heat flowed across the skin around his mouth, over his lips, and into his mouth, moisture from two combining breaths gathering on all points of contact. The pleasurable taste had become overwhelming leading Cloud to assume that it was Zack's lips that where hovering so close to his._

_Zack lingered for what seemed like an eternity at that not-quite-completely-touching distance. The blond youth's breath began to tremble like the other youth's, catching regularly in his chest and throat. Seconds, that felt like hours, ticked by, and then the warmth of the lips intensified and the long pleasant breaths of the other disappeared._

_Cloud's eyes fluttered open and all he could make out was the even skin tone that he recognized as Zack's. He let his eyes drift closed and he felt him self drift away, the sensation of the other youth fading as the darkness of sleep set back in._

Cloud's breath was wavering like it had in his dream, and his heart was throbbing in his tight chest. He shivered uncontrollably for a few seconds before he was able to open his eyes, but the shivering and the sensation continued.

Just lying there, the blond could feel the heat he had felt in the dream pressing lightly over his lips. His heart jumped in his chest, and his breathing stopped for a few seconds before he released a quivering breath.

The blond fought to pull him self back down to earth, but it proved more difficult than ever. He eventually regained the ability to move his arms, and he shakily lifted both hand to his face, sliding them over his face and pushing hi hair back. Somehow this helped and Cloud was able to sit back up, breath still quivering slightly.

It was official; things had gotten way out of hand. The blond had to find some way to deal with this before it started causing greater problems. Before he had only spaced a little. This new dream had left him physically crippled, and that could lead to a mess of bad things. But how could he deal with?

He couldn't focus on the question he had decided that desperately needed to be answered, because his mind was the equivalence of an actual cloud in the sky. Light, airy, and incapable of holding anything solid, like a clearly formed coherent thought.

Cloud shook his head in frustration, and then in donned on him. The sensations that had begun after the first dream of Zack hadn't been the only feelings and sensations he had gotten. Before he ever even dreamed of Zack almost kissing him he had felt hot and flustered around the black haired operative. He had blushed though he didn't know why on multiple occasions, and he had felt strange, for lack of a better way to put it, numerous times when ever Zack touched him. He had felt his heart pound harder than it should have been, and he had experienced his breath failing him at least once when Zack stripped of his shirt before continuing to run through a technique with another candidate in Cloud's group.

"Who am I kidding", Cloud muttered running a hand through his hair again, "I'm falling for him. My first crush since I've left home and it's on a guy. There's no denying that I like him but…how the hell did this happen? I've never been attracted to a guy before, and then all the sudden I meet Zack and I fall for him almost instantly."

Headache returning with a vengeance, Cloud groaned. Puzzling over the details wasn't getting him any where, and all it was accomplishing was making his head hurt worse. He already knew for a fact that he was attracted to Zack. So did the whys and hows really matter?

Sighing softly, the blond concluded that they indeed didn't matter at all. In fact he cared more about getting on a more personal level with Commander Guile, which he didn't really care about doing at all, than he cared about figuring out the whys and hows. He was perfectly content in just knowing his feelings for the dark haired youth.

"Yo Cloud", a cheerful voice exploded from the nearest tent entrance, "Glad to see you're finally awake."

"Finally awake? I couldn't have been out that long", Cloud responded with a jump, looking up to find the now lightly tanned Shin standing in the tent entrance with both hands raised and placed behind his head, an animated grin plastered on his face.

"Well", the roommate shrugged his shoulders, cocking his head to side and changing the grin to a light smirk, "Being out for any amount of time sucks, because you always lose the amount of time that went by, no matter what. Thus leading to time not spent doing better things. So I'm glad your 'finally awake' because that means time won't just be passing you by now."

The blond smirked and nodded at the explanation. It certainly sounded like typical Shin whom, Cloud had learned, believed in living in the moment and making the most of life. To the older candidate found all time precious, including ever single second. If there was someone that loved life more, Cloud had yet to meet them.

With a blithe laugh the blond inquired, "So how long was I actually out, and did I miss anything?"

Shin shook his head enthusiastically, "Nope, you didn't miss anything important in regards to training or important announcements. And as for how long you were out, I'd say somewhere between a half hour to forty-five minutes. Oh, and just f.y.i., we're on break right now. So you can relax and take your time getting back out on the field."

"Thanks Shin", the blond said with a kind smile that he normally didn't use but would dust off and use when dealing with the few friends he had made since he left home.

Light hearted, and as sure footed as always, Shin flashed Cloud a quick wink and walked back out of the tent grabbing a roll of white bandages as he passed by them on the table. It was crazy how the roommate could always appear so cheerful and care free, but it was those traits that made the man him.

Headache subsiding on its own, Cloud slowly, and rather clumsily, rose to his feet, suffering a short rush of blood to the head. Shaking it off, the blond gave a quick look around the tent to see if his weapon had been laid down in here.

Sure enough, when he glanced back down at the pallet he had been placed on he discovered his training broad sword sheathed and laying parallel to the far side of the temporary bedding. Kneeling stiffly, the youth picked up his sword, and proceeded to reattach it to his body by fastening the belt around him so that it ran from his right shoulder to his left side.

The pressure of the sword belt back on his shoulder, and the steady weight of the weapon weighing down on him, was a feeling the youth hadn't realized he had missed. Now that the feeling of the weapon was there, he realized just how accustomed he had become to it being there and just how comforting the feeling had become.

Feeling whole again, the teen made his way back out onto the training field, the blazing sun temporarily blinding him the second the tent's shade failed to protect him. Holding a hand up, Cloud scanned the field for the officer in direct command of him or any of the members of his training group.

…………..

Zack leaned against the silver tinted wall back in his favorite corner of the cafeteria when he actually wanted to spend a little time in peace. It had been almost impossible to get away from Kunsel even after the dark haired operative had divulged everything there was to know about his feelings for, and his relationship with, Cloud. It had also been near impossible to get his friend to swear not to reveal anything to anyone.

Of course right of the bat, the older operative swore he would stay quiet, promising his lips were sealed, but the younger operative knew his friend too well. He had to get Kunsel to say, almost specifically, "I swear I will tell no one about your feelings for Cloud, about the events you are about to reveal to me, and about the kiss I saw you give Cloud", because with Kunsel you had to be specific. Leave a loop hole and the man was bound to find it, and when he did, he would exploit it.

After close to fifteen minutes of verbally wrestling with the tenacious man, Zack had finally got Kunsel to swear in a way that left him satisfied that no blatant loop hole remained. As soon as the younger operative had shown his satisfaction, the older man instantly began pushing for his younger friend's explanation.

Once all angles had been covered, and the older man was convinced he had learned everything he could from Zack, Kunsel allowed the topic to be dropped. However, getting Kunsel to stop talking all together was another matter, and as Zack had feared, he couldn't get away from he man. Sure, he could have just walked off, but he wasn't that kind of person. Which made it no so surprise that he couldn't bring him self to do it, not in the past and not now. Unable to use the only one-hundred percent effective method of escape, the younger man conversed with his friend until said friend's cell phone went off leading to the friend's hasty goodbye and speedy departure.

Zack let his head fall back against the wall and closed his eyes. As stressful as the whole thing had been in its own way, he couldn't help but feel relieved, like a pack his own weight had been removed from his back. Maybe, just maybe, he owed his friend for putting him through all this torment, and it had only taken him an hour to make this conclusion.

On the other side of the table a bench scrapped across the floor. Zack ignored it until he felt the table jiggle slightly with his knee, that he had pulled up in front of him, foot up on the bench he was sitting on. Curious because it felt like whatever had caused the movement was close, the spirited youth cracked open an eye.

"Yo Angeal", Zack greeted when he discovered the sounds and movement had been due to another of his older friends sitting down across from him, sitting up and folding his arms in front of him on the table.

"Hey Zack", Angeal returned in a deep smooth voice, "What have you been up to while I was gone? Staying out of trouble I hope."

"Of course, of course. No trouble here and I've been practicing too. Other than that I really haven't up to much of anything. Well, I helped out with the candidates a bit, but other than that, nothing", Zack assured his friend and mentor with a wave of his hand and a jovial grin.

"Really? Nothing else has happened while I was gone? Because I'll be honest and admit, I find that hard to believe. You must've gotten into something or at least have something you want to tell me", Angeal smirked, leaning forward and placing his arms out on the table in front of him after running a hand through his shoulder length spiky black hair.

"Hmm", Zack hummed pretending to think real hard before answering, "Yup, I'm pretty sure that's all I've got. Actually, wait, I just remembered something. Commander Guile is still an ass. Now that's all I have to say about the time you were gone."

The broad shouldered man dressed in his version of the SOLDIER first class uniform, the liberty allowed because of his rank and importance, released a hearty chuckle at his young friend's reply. Stroking the dark stubble on his chin he prodded, "You sure there's nothing else?"

Zack creased his brow in confusion as he cocked a head to the side, answering slowly, "Yea, I'm pretty sure I got nothing else."

This was odd. Angeal didn't normally probe for details about what Zack was up to while he was away on mission or leave. He always asked Zack what went on while he was away, but he normally accepted the "not much" answer followed by an insanely brief overview. But this time the strongly built man wasn't settling for the answer, and he was acting as if he was looking for a specific reply. He only did that when he had learned something already and wanted to know more.

Angeal raised a dark eyebrow and folded his hands together, mako enhanced eyes set firmly on Zack. 'Great, he's obviously fishing for something, but what? I didn't get into any trouble while he was gone, or at least I don't think I did, so no one should have gone tattling to him. And I don't think I was promoted or that I obtained any kind of achievement, so he can't be fishing for that kind of news', the young operative thought through perplexed.

Uneasily, Zack chewed his bottom as he massaged his own shoulder, turning his head to the side to keep from making direct eye contact. Licking his lips he inquired, "What, did someone tell you I did something while you were gone? Because I really don't recall getting into anything or doing anything of any significance while you were away, I swear."

"So how did it happen? I'm assuming it caught you off guard", Angeal asked brining up a hand to lean on, a confident smirk set firmly on his lips.

"How did what…", Zack began before his eyes went wide and his heart stopped mid beat.

The young operative's jaw dropped in shock. Was Angeal referring to what he thought he was? And if so, how the hell had he found out, because he hadn't even been around for the past few weeks? And then it hit him…Kunsel. Kunsel had spilled it all to Angeal.

"How did you…How did you find out about that? No one knows, not even…him. Well Kunsel does, but I mean…you've probably only been back for like an hour or so. He couldn't possibly have had the chance to talk to you yet", Zack spluttered, falling back against the wall in exasperation.

In response to Zack's rambling question, Angeal held up a small black rectangle about the size of his palm. Zack slapped a hand over his forehead as he fell back forward on to an elbow for support.

Angeal was holding up his phone which meant only one thing. Kunsel had messaged him. More specifically, that lose lipped man had messaged him sometime within the last hour. That meant Angeal had literally just learned all about this from the only soul who knew, who was supposed to be sworn to secrecy. If Zack was going to take anything away from this it was that he would have to find out what loop hole his friend had exploited and ensure it never happened again.

Zack heaved a defeated sigh. Angeal knew now as well, and there was no way to undo it. "Technically 'it' started just before you left. I didn't realize I was falling for him at first, that wasn't till later, but there were so many things that should have made it obvious to me. I guess you could say I was choosing to be thick headed.

And before we go any further, just so you know who Cloud is, do you remember the candidate I told you about before you left? The one I showed around and stuff?"

Angeal nodded and Zack continued. "Yea, well…that's Cloud. Anyway, at first I just thought I really liked being around him. There was just something about him. So I became determined to befriend him and then...", before Zack could finishing talking, a young man with bright red hair pulled back into a rat tail and wearing a set of goggles slipped in next to Angeal with a toothy grin.

"SO, I hear your ah…social life is going well", the golden tanned man inferred, resting his head on the palm of his hand.

"Reno, what are you talking about?", Zack asked, eyebrows knit together as he stared at Reno like he had just told him the sky was purple.

"Aww, come one. Don't play dumb. If it makes you feel better I'm actually happy for you. It's about time someone caught your eye, even if they are the same gender. 'Cause, even though I'm straight, that kind of thing doesn't bother me. So no worries."

Zack's jaw dropped again, this time paired with the drooping of his shoulders. Reno also knew. Dumbfounded on the outside, and raging on this inside, the young operative decided this was the last straw. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

"I'm gunna kill him", Zack hissed, falling face down on the table and slamming a fist into the surface, before rising slowly, stepping over the bench, and marching out of the cafeteria like a man on a mission.

"Was it something I said?", Reno asked with a straight face and slightly widened eyes, first glancing in the direction Zack had stalked off in, then back at Angeal.

…………..

Cloud trudged back towards the barracks alongside two of his roommates, Shin and Kitami. As the three rounded the side of the mess hall and conference room building, the blond noticed a man in a SOLDIER second class uniform running as if his very life depended on it.

In his bewilderment, the youngest member of the group came to a gradual stop, watching the man as he flew through the courtyard, stumbling every so often as he looked back over his shoulder. "What do you think he's running from? My money's on an angry superior or something", Shin set up his friendly wager.

Kitami shook his head at Shin's extremely light hearted nature coming out at such a strange moment. "I really don't think you should be trying to start a bet right now. He could actually be in trouble. The only thing I can't figure is what he could possible be…", Kitami began to input but he was cut short by the yelling of another man.

"I don't think so Kunsel. I spent a good portion of my afternoon tracking you down! There is absolutely no way in hell I'm gunna let you get away from me", Zack yelled running into view from behind some of the trees, hot on Kunsel's heals.

"Mr. Angeal, sir, call it off. Please, I'm begging you. I don't know how much longer I can outrun it", Kunsel screamed dashing through the center of one of the elaborate planters of the court yard.

"Zack", yelled a long red haired man skidding to a stop next to the three candidates, "don't actually kill him! Trust me it's more trouble than it's worth. You hate paperwork and killing him is asking for stacks of the stuff!"

Whoever this red head was, Zack seemed to be ignoring him as he too whet flying through the same planter Kunsel had a minute earlier. And by what Cloud had observed, the man Kunsel didn't have long before the dark haired operative overtook him. For the random operative's sake, Cloud hoped the man by the name of Angeal intervened, because Zack didn't sound happy.

The red head lowered his head shaking it, running his hand over the side of his face. "Man, at this rate Kunsel's not gunna make it. I give the poor man about ten minutes at the most to live", the red haired man in the baggy black suite with his white shirt un-tucked proposed with an exaggerated sigh.

"From what I could tell the one giving chase is faster than the one running. Sooo, I'm going to say there's no point in taking that bet, because I agree with you", Shin concurred with a soft chuckle.

Kitami's head rolled back as he released a sharp breath, obviously annoyed with the two other men's nonchalant out look of the situation. Shin caught the motion and slapped his hand across his friend's back, exclaiming, "Oh come on Kitami, relax. I'm sure the guy will be just fine, because I really doubt that other operative would really hurt him."

"I'm not so sure of that", the young man in the suite muttered looking around, scratching the back of his head, "Zack seemed pretty pissed at him."

Cloud stood quietly studying the mystery man standing with him and his two roommates. From the sound of it all, this man knew Zack. Well enough, in fact, that he may just be one of Zack's friends.

Now that the blond thought about, he remembered the dark haired operative mentioning a friend with long red hair that was a little…quirky, and dressed in a suite because he was a Turk. So far the young man fit the description, though Cloud didn't know if the suite was because the man was a Turk or if it was because the man felt like wearing it.

"By chance, are you…Reno?", Cloud asked softly, looking down the second the young man turned his way at the sound of the mentioned name.

"You got it. The name's Reno, and it's a pleasure to meet you", Reno confirmed giving Cloud a thumbs up before asking, "If you don't mind my asking, how did you know who I was? 'Cause last time I checked I wasn't famous, and people in SOLDIER weren't spending their time memorizing different Turks."

"Well, Zack mentioned you once. When he first brought you up I asked him who you were, and he just told me you were a Turk, which was why you always wore suits, and that you had long red hair. So, really, I was just guessing that you were Reno because you seemed to fit his description", Cloud answered shyly, suddenly deciding he needed to focus on adjusting his right glove.

"Ah, I see. So you must be Cloud then. I'm glad I got to meet you for myself", Reno laughed, thumping a hand down on the blonde's shoulder.

The small candidate snapped his eyes up from his glove to stare at Reno. "How did you", he started, falling victim to his own shyness and losing his voice.

Laughing casually, his gray-blue eyes closing to form two arcs, Reno ruffled Cloud's light feathery blond hair, making it messier than it normally was. "Same as how you knew who I was, Zack mentioned you. Well, I originally only got your name, but Kunsel filled me in a bit more. You see Zack doesn't normally bother to fill people in on any details.

Officially unable to speak, the blond could only look childishly over at the Turk. Thankfully, Reno could read between the lines and was thus able to translate Cloud's silence. "Of course he mentioned you", the Turk grinned giving another wink, "You're one of his friends, so why wouldn't he? But hey, I'd love to stay and chat longer but I gotta go. I kinda had some free time but it's just about up. If I don't step on it, I'm gunna be late getting back. It was nice talking to you and I look forward to seeing you around more."

A roughly formed fist pressed into Cloud's shoulder, pushing him part way back onto his heels. With a frank wave of the hand, Reno jogged off in the direction of the front building.

Still suffering from an episode of shyness, Cloud shoved his hands in his pockets, kicking at some gravel that had found its way out of one of the planters, though there really wasn't much gravel used. Meeting Reno had been interesting in its own right. The most interesting bit was the Turk's ability to identify him.

The blond really hadn't expected the operative to ever bring him up in any conversation, and it was more than curious that Kunsel had brought him up. The way Zack had talked about the friend, Kunsel was a source of information and only brought things up when it was an interesting tidbit, breaking news, or helpful info. And Cloud certainly didn't see how he would fit into any of those categories.

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**A/N: **I don't know about you, but it looks like things are getting interesting. (And dangerous if your a SOLDIER second class by the name of Kunsel...) And you know what? I only just noticed this. I gave you a chapter without the brute, Zahawk...unfortunately for you (if you hate him) he'll be back.

Anyway, now comes the time where I ask you to press the button at the bottom of the page, you know, the one that contains the word "review". Reviews really are what keep an author writing, and on top of that, I really like hearing what you, the readers have to say. It doesn't matter if your ranting on how you would like to kill "the brute", how cute you thought something was, or if you caught an error and you're bringing it to my attention (the list could go on). I like hearing from you guys.

So review, and tell me what you think. My question for this chapter: What do you think of Tory Himora? Jack ass to be feared or determined canidate itching to prove himself? (Don't ask me why I'm asking this, I just am.) And what do you think Zahawk is up to? (Oh you all know he's up to something. After what he pulled last chapter there's no way he's just going to stop.)


	5. Ch 5: Expect the Unexpected

**A/N: **Alright people chapter five is now served. But first I would like to apologize. Sadly I encountered a bit of writers block with this chapter. I just don't feel it's on the same level as the other chapters, but I hope you still enjoy it.

Moving on, I would also like to give thanks to a few of my readers. Chinchila, GFS, Aria, and Sister-of-the-wolves, this is directed at you. Thanks for reviewing as often as you have on top of reading through these lengthy chapters. You all in particular have been a great encouragement to me.

To all of my other readers I would like to say thank you for reading. Seeing people adding this story to their favorites or their alerts, as well as watching the number of hits go up, has left me with an incredible feeling.

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**Ch. 5: Expect the Unexpected**

Zack had left on a short assignment and wasn't due back until later that evening. Not feeling up to putting up with the mindless chatter of the other candidate's, and knowing no one else other than his roommates and Zack, Cloud sat alone, a solitary figure in the far back corner of the mess hall. Other men were at the table, but the closest one was more than a couple feet away. In that spot the blond could disappear from sight and be left alone.

Clacking of plates, scraping of silverware, the hum of hundreds of voices, and the occasional shouting voice filled the vast expanse, and Cloud slumped lower in his seat. This evening was proving to be particularly loud and it was beginning to get to him. He had taken a hit to the head earlier, and the noise level was doing nothing to help the throbbing deep within his skull.

On the other side of the cafeteria, a couple of men bumped into the table where all the trays were stacked, and within seconds the thundering sound of all the trays crashing to the ground washed over the mess hall, temporarily drowning out all other noise. Everyone else carried on as if nothing happened after sparing a passing glance, but Cloud grimaced from the over whelming wave of sound. He wasn't sure he could take much more of the loud environment.

Ready to be out of the place and back in his nice quiet room, Cloud picked up his bowl from his tray and downed the last of the broth and noodles. Placing the bowl on top of his plate, the blond moved his empty drinking glass onto his tray. He stood, carefully stepping over the bench, his empty glass tipping over, and began zigzagging his way through the labyrinth of long tables, benches, and masses of moving SOLDIER operative's and candidates, the later being the clear minority.

Outside, a rush of cool evening air washed over Cloud, and already he felt sweet relief. The sun had dropped low in the sky, its dying rays of light skimming over the tops of buildings and shinning through between the buildings. The shadows had grown long and consumed the majority of the courtyard. The sky was steadily growing darker and darker, though one could still see the radiant colors of the sunset just over the tops of some of the buildings.

Breathing deeply, the blond paused, closing his eyes, and let the gentle evening breeze that was snaking its way through the courtyard, rush tenderly over his skin. It felt good, and every aspect of the evening outside was soothing, including the clean scent of the air that was tinged slightly with the smell of distant rain. His favorite detail about this evening, hands down, was how quiet it was.

Mind cleared, and body relaxed, Cloud reopened his eyes and began his pleasant walk back to his room, wandering around the beautifully arranged planters of the courtyard, not caring that he wasn't taking a very direct route through the place.

Inside the barracks wasn't near as enjoyable as outside, but it wasn't bad. There weren't masses of loud people gathered in the place, so Cloud didn't mind it. He could put up with the two or three small groups of men sitting around on the chairs, and the gentle mumble of voices from the main common room was more than bearable.

Cloud ignored the elevators, although there was no line for them and the red numbers over each one read "L" for lobby. For some reason he preferred to use the stairs, and like any night, he was going to stick to using them. Well, he knew one reason he preferred them was because he had less of a chance getting stuck close quarters with anyone else.

He wandered down the side hallway and instinctively turned into the stair well. Inside the stairwell was like being in a tall empty tower that contained only stairs crisscrossing their way from one side of the tower to the other, and each step echoed up the back and forth passage ahead of him and behind him.

Back on his own level, the blond stepped through the door and turned to make his way back to his room. Behind him he heard the door slide closed only to slide back open seconds later. He hadn't heard anyone in the stairwell with him, so why was the door opening?

Glimpsing carefully over his shoulder, Cloud checked for anyone behind him out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, there was someone following behind him. The blond clenched his jaw cursing to him self. From what he could see it was one of the men that didn't care too much for him. He had managed to go the past few weeks without any trouble from any of them, probably because his _loving fans_ had carried out an extensive attack on him, and they wanted to lay low for a while to avoid increasing the likelihood of being caught.

Picking up the pace, Cloud kept his fists balled as he made his way to his room. If he could get there he would be able to engage the electronic lock thus effectively getting away from the man that was making him so uneasy. All he had to do was make it around the next corner and part way down the hall and he would be home free.

Stepping around the next corner, Cloud almost collided into a broad shouldered man leaning against the wall. At first the blond only froze mid step to avoid running into the man, and was about to simply step around him when the man's identity sunk in. It was Tank.

He jumped back off his right leg to get out of arms reach of the man, because one thing he didn't want to do is leave him self open to a grab from the power house. Tank was strong and had an incredible grip, and if the large fighter managed to grab on, Cloud knew it would be difficult for him to escape.

Jumping deftly back out of reach the blond remembered the person following him. Glancing briefly over he obtained a better look at the one following him, and to his dismay the man turned out to be Red, Tank's partner in crime. This was shaping up to be a bad situation. Running for his room was now out of the question and on top of that, he couldn't run for the stairs he had come from, escaping to the safety of witnesses.

Standing still and being indecisive wasn't going to save him, and Cloud knew only seconds were left to decide on a plan of action before he found himself at the hands of one of the two older candidates that were most likely planning on sending him to the medical ward again.

Just as Tank lunged forward to seize the small blond, Cloud back stepped and spun on his heal, tearing off down the hallway, rapidly leaving his room far behind him. Even though the young candidate didn't know where anything was in this direction, he felt it was a safer bet to run this way than it was to try and slip by the two men. If he failed, he would find him self injured. This way he might find him self lost, but he would be unscathed.

Behind him he heard the hurried heavy footsteps of the two larger men, and he could feel his heart leaping into his throat as panic set in. In Cloud's mind, Tank and Red on his tail meant Zahawk and his other lackeys were lingering somewhere near by. "What's wrong Strife, don't want to hang out? We're hurt", Red jeered from behind him.

The blond barreled down the hall as fast as his legs would carry him and by the sound of it he was leaving the two men in the dust. He had the lead he needed to lose them, now all he needed to do was find some corners to dodge around. But his plan fell to dust before his eyes as a man leaning along the wall ahead straitened up, turning to face him. Zahawk had known Cloud would try to run from Tank and Red, and he had predicted the blond would take off down this hallway, which the blond found highly unnerving. It meant the brute had some sort of brain up top.

Cloud dug his heels into the ground, grinding to a halt, eyes ravaging the hall for any sign of a side hallway or stairwell door that he had missed. Zahawk gave a cynical laugh as he walked toward the panicking younger man. "Where you goin Strife? Why don't you stick around for a while? You might find that we can have some fun", the brute drawled darkly, following it up with a equally dark laugh.

The brute kept his casual pace as he continued towards the petrified blond, the laugh dying off to only a smirk that was just as unsettling as the laugh. Holding his ground, the blond prepared himself for the brute's inevitable first strike. The small candidate was counting on the strike being the same as it had been so far, overly powerful and sluggish which would make it easy to get around.

Sure enough, the brute took a wild swing at Cloud, and the blond seized the opportunity to get around the barricade. Dropping down, he ducked under the blow, and dashed by the man, making a desperate run for an indent in the wall not too far down the hall that he prayed would turn out to be a side hall.

To Cloud's relief the depression turned out to be what he had hoped it would, and he drifted around the sharp turn. Doors flew by him on either side as partial blurs and he kept his eyes constantly searching for another hallway or a stairwell. He needed to break the line of sight and keep it broken or all his running would be for nothing.

A door way with the words "Janitor's Closet" with the apostrophe missing from janitor's streaked through Cloud's vision and the blond realized where he was. Zack had shown him this hallway not all that long ago telling him there was a staircase most people missed and didn't know about. The dark haired operative had had also thrown in another interesting bit of information about this back stair well. It was an excellent way of getting out of the building. Though the older youth had been referring to dodging people he didn't want to talk to, not running from someone trying to use you as a punching bag.

In sink with his dash down the hall, Cloud's memory of walking this way with Zack played itself. The door to the stairwell was coming up. All he needed to do was get through it and lock it, and he would hopefully gain enough time to get away from the brute and his gang.

Cloud slammed into the doorway and hastily pressed the door open button on the panel over and over, glancing back over his shoulder as he did, waiting for the brute and his men to come crashing into sight. His body was becoming drenched in a cold sweat and his pounding heart was making it feel like his whole body was pulsing.

This was the only problem with the stairwell, the door was unusually slow, and at this rate it would cost him his escape. Growing more desperate from the increasing volume of footsteps, Cloud slammed his hand into the button with a curse. Finally the doorway had slid open enough for him to slip through, and the blond shoved his way by turning instantly to slam his hand into the button for the electronic lock.

Heart still racing and not wanting to run the risk the lock took too much time to engage, the blond turned and bolted down the stairs, taking them two at a time and almost falling with each step. The loud click of the door sounded behind him but he didn't dare stop. He didn't trust the door to save him, and he didn't dare let himself believe that a door locking would be enough to stop Zahawk from coming after him. At least he didn't trust this door to stop the man. The lock on his room he trusted but as things were, he wasn't in his room.

Pounding echoed down the stairs from the door and Cloud could hear the brute cursing loudly before slamming some part of his body into the door one last time. The pounding ceased, but Cloud couldn't bring himself to stop running, He just kept racing down the stairs wanting nothing more than to make it to the first floor.

He slammed his entire body into the door at the bottom of the final stretch of stairs, forcing the air from his own lungs. He struggled for a few moments before the door budged, giving way and letting him rush through.

To his surprise he found himself outside of the barracks and, from what he could tell, just outside of the SOLDIER compound. He looked up the large wall that ran the entire perimeter of the place but only reached just past the first floor. His heart was still racing and anxiety gripped at him refusing to let his body relax.

Still held by panic, and an unknown drive, Cloud began jogging along the wall after hearing the door click shut. He wasn't sure which way he should go, but back inside was not among the possibilities, seeing as the door he had used to get out here was now locked tight behind him.

Ever so slowly his heart began to slow, and his muscles shook from the heavy exertion they just endured after a long day of training. As much as the tiered muscles protested, Cloud continued jogging, unable to slow for fear he felt was somewhat irrational at this point.

Less than a minute of jogging, and the blonde's muscles quaked in their exhaustion and he found he had little energy left. Hearing no rushing footsteps behind him, he finally allowed him self to slow to a walk.

With a breathy sigh, Cloud wiped a thin layer of swat away from his brow. Unlike the first attack Zahawk had launched back in the bathroom a few weeks ago, Cloud had found an escape route, leaving him to feel rather pleased with him self. What he wouldn't give to see the angry expression on Zahawk's face and to hear the steady line of curses that paired themselves with it.

Some fifteen feet ahead of him a door slammed open and a figure leaned out of it, first glancing further down the wall in the other direction and then directly at him. Without sparing a second, the figure dashed from the lit door way towards Cloud, yelling back inside, "Found him."

This was insane. Either the life stream had it out for him or it was just his fate to be pounded into the wall tonight. Regardless of the reason, Cloud spun around and reinstated his mad dash to escape.

His heart sank as the door he had initially escaped out of slammed open. 'Shit', Cloud cursed, 'They had someone smart enough to over ride the lock.'

Blue eyes scoured the shadows for any sign of an ally way or street. He needed another way to run and fast. Adrenaline gave the blonde's system a quick jolt and he felt his muscles magically reenergize, though he still shook from fear of being caught. His breathing evened back out and his head instantly cleared.

He dashed down the first street he could make out and left the two men behind him. One of the first two on scene yelled back behind them in a rough airy voice "Strife ran this way" revealing the identity of one of the two men to be Red.

"God he has to be the most persistent out of all of them and the most difficult to shake", Cloud breathed heavily as he focused on keeping up the pace.

Two of the lackeys might have found him, but as past experience had revealed, Cloud held the advantage was running. He was faster then his pursuers. He had used it to his advantage before to lose the men, and he could do it again. Somewhere back in the distance he heard Zahawk below, "Lose him and it's your sorry asses that'll pay for it."

..............

Shin lay lazily on the rough top, unusually close to the edge of the place, staring up at the beautiful starry night sky. It was cool and quiet night, the kind of night he enjoyed the most. The sky was clear leaving the twinkling stars free for viewing and since there was little light pollution here that meant the whole ocean of stars was open for viewing.

Below a door crashed open causing Shin to jump in pace. The slightly tanned candidate rolled over on to his stomach, and he curled his finger tips over the edge of the building, pulling him self over to peer over the edge.

A figure leaned out of the door way looking first in one direction down the long wall and then back in the other direction. The man called back "found him" into the building before dashing from the light and into the side road. Quickly the candidate looked in the direction the man dashed to see the small figure of another man with surprisingly blond hair who had already begun to retreat in the opposite direction. "Cloud", Shin uttered in confusion.

And then the gravity of the situation struck the care free man as he saw another door slam open down the way, light spilling out of the building into the dark shadow consumed street below. A dark distant figure dashed out into the road and Cloud froze, searching for another direction in which he could run. The blond changed directions and shot off down another road, leaving the two men in the dust but not by much.

Shin jumped to his feet, crying out, "Cloud", but he knew there was no way the blond candidate had possibly heard him.

The roommate rushed for the stairwell off the roof and used the force of his entire body to shove it open, speeding down the stairs almost tumbling down the first set of stairs. Set of stairs after set of stairs flew by as Shin raced down to the first floor to try and make it out of the building where Cloud was. The only immediate problem Shin faced was that he wasn't sure if there was anyway for him to get to where his roommate was besides exiting through the main building and running around to the side of the compound.

He would just have to run for the exit he did know, and pray he was fast enough to get to where Cloud was before the small youth was overtaken.

Shin barreled out the barracks and crashed into a muscled body roughly the same size as his but apparently more balanced, for he crashed to the ground while the other remained standing. "Let me guess, they sprung night training on you, and you're rushing to get whatever you need form your room and make it back fast enough to be spared getting yelled at", the still standing man asked sarcastically with a chuckle before offering a hand to help the hurried candidate up.

Looking up Shin made out the light hearted smile of Zack Fair, probably now the best news he had ever run into…literally. "Zack", Shin panted trying to get his words to come out in a recognizable manner, "Cloud. He's getting chased."

"Wait, what? Where?", Zack questioned his smile fading and his face growing far more serious.

The candidate still on the ground struggling to catch his breath, breathily answered, "Well I was on the roof when I saw someone go running out into the street that runs along the wall along the far side of the barracks. I was trying to get there, but I don't know how…"

"I know how. I want you to keep running for the front entrance. If you hurry, you should still be able to catch Reno, a Turk with long red hair. You've seen him before. He's the guy responsible for Kunsel still breathing.

Anyway, just tell him to join up with me around on the North side of the compound. He's smart, he'll figure out everything else on his own."

Without another word and without waiting for Shin's response to the command, Zack

ran for the door of the barracks and disappeared into the building. Obeying orders, Shin scrambled to his feet and ran for the front of the SOLDIER compound.

…………..

'Oh shit, guess I should have tried for a little more information before acting', Zack cursed to him self, screeching to a halt after racing around the dark streets to the North of the compound for a couple of heart pounding minutes.

A metallic crash echoed from a joined street down to Zack's right. The sound being the only thing the operative had come across since making out into the streets, he pounced on the little bit of in put, making the direction of the sound his best bet at this time. Of course he was assuming the crash came from either Cloud or his pursuers crashing into something metal, but it was better to chase after the noise than to stand around scratching his head.

Around the corner the dark haired youth spotted a man stopped at an intersection. Within seconds the man had assessed each direction before him and had taken off to the left, around the corner and out of sight. Zack released a low growl. He was going to be playing catch up the entire time if he continued to play this pathetic game.

Charging off after the dark figure, the dark haired operative noticed a later extending half way down from the low building on his left side. If he obtained higher ground he would have a strong vantage point from which he was more likely able to spot Cloud or his pursuers.

He pushed off powerfully with both his legs. A cold metal rung of the latter fell smoothly into his grasping fingers. Gravity set in and his shoulder jerked as his weight continued with his momentum and plummeting back towards the ground, the metal rung slipping in his grasp. Determined to keep his hold, Zack's fingers wrapped tight around the bar, and with a grunt, the operative pulled himself up so that he could easily climb the rest of the latter.

Pulling himself over the ledge and onto the roof, Zack propelled him self forward, reaching a dead run within seconds. The lack of obstacles allowed the operative to pass the man far faster than he would have on the ground and ahead he could make out a small pale blond rounding the next corner with another dark figure on his heels. He had found Cloud at last.

Zack sped up and leapt from the roof top, landing just shy of on top of the blond and just in front of the dark figure. Instantly, the operative lashed out with a palm intending to stun the attacking man, but unfortunately the man turned out to be one of the few candidates that were alert. Zack's open palm fell short of the attacker and leaving the strike unrewarded by the touch of warm flesh.

Cloud slid to a halt, prepared to redirect his momentum into a powerful back fist aimed at around where his average attackers head might be, but pulled the move as soon as he realized the nearby presence was a friend and not a foe. The sight of his friend sent jolts or relief though his entire body, and for the first time since the chase began he felt truly relaxed.

Crunching footsteps from behind brought the blond whirling back around to stand back to back with the operative. Had Zack not shown up the blond would have been surrounded and without alone. Taking up a ready stance, Cloud dug him self in to make a stand, confident that he was untouchable with the dark haired man behind him.

The first man Zack had caught sight of slid around the corner and slammed into his companion, releasing a muffled cry of shock as the two tumbled to the ground. As the two scrambled to their feet, Zack heard one of them hissing something about getting the hell out of here and the operative smirked triumphantly. 'Good idea jerks. Might just find you saved your selves a fair amount of hurt', the operative thought, turning his attention back over his shoulder as the two he had been about to face stumbled over one another in a panicked retreat.

But the operative found he would be denied the pleasure of taking even a single one of these men to the ground. "Where you going in such a hurry bud? I was only asking what you were up to", a voice in a controlled roared from around the corner, and another man came scrambling for his life into view.

Narrowly missing his companion, the newcomer knocked over a short stack of boxes near one the side door of the building. Just as quickly as he came into view, the man fled the scene with his companion on his heels, who had gone pale at the sight of Zack and the mystery man that the operative had yet to see but had a hunch as to who it was.

Reno flew into sight from around the corner on one foot, fist raised, and yelling, "Running away is a great way to tell me you aren't up to something. In fact it screams I'm up to no good and when I catch you I'm gunna find out what it is."

"Reno", Zack called out chuckling, but the red haired man either didn't hear him or was choosing to ignore him.

"And I **will** catch you. Out running me doesn't work, not by a long shot", the Turk continued to threaten, regaining his balance and making a sloppy start after the two men.

"Reno", Zack called again, "Give it up. I've accomplished what we need to right now. And they're all candidates, so if we want to pursue them we can catch them with ease later, once they're back within the SOLDIER compound."

"You're going to be", Reno continued to yell before making an abrupt all stop and faced Zack, voice dropping to an excited conversational tone, "Seriously? We're going to let them go, just like that?"

"Uh, yea. I think we are. As I said we've already accomplished what needed to be done, and that was locate Cloud", Zack smirked walking up alongside the blond placing a hand on his shaking shoulder, "And Reno…What took you so long?"

"Took me so long", the Turk cried out brining both his hands up to his head, his finger tips disappearing into his red hair, "Took me so long?! Hey, I think I got here pretty damn fast considering all that I had to go off of."

The dark haired operative laughed at his hot tempered friend and gave Cloud's shoulder a light shake, "Hey, you ok? They didn't get a hold of you ever, did they?"

Cloud simply shook his head as his adrenaline rush died off leaving his body numb and shaking from the exertion of the chase. Reno relaxed his body and assumed a more average body stance, and with his voice lowered asked, "Wait, what happened to Cloud? Was he attacked again? 'Cause if he was I swear I'll kick their asses, every single one of them. No one hurts one of my friend's friends. Especially if the friend's friend is my friend's…"

"That's alright Reno", Zack raced to cut the other youth off with a grin, "I think we're going to take a more conventional approach to dealing with the matter."

The red haired Turk pouted. He had been all fired up and ready for a good fight and now he was being told there would be no fight; no apprehending the jerks responsible. With a sigh, he ran a light hand through his loosely pulled back hair. "Alright, whatever", he mumbled disappointed, turning to longingly look in the direction the two he had been planning to chase to the ends of Gaia disappeared in.

Confident the fiery man wouldn't randomly tare off after the two, Zack turned his complete and undivided attention to the shaking blond he had his arm around. "You are either the most talented individual I have ever met when it comes to getting attacked by groups, or the most unlucky. At this point I'm not sure which", the older youth half joked trying to lighten the aftermath up as much as he could.

Cloud didn't smile, but instead he cast his eyes to the ground, studying the few cracks in the hard cement. Zack sighed, dropping the intensity of his grin to a gentle smile, and pulled the silent blond closer to him. "Hey, you all right?" the older youth whispered, leaning in and resting his forehead on top of the younger one's head.

The small blond nodded, muttering, "I'm fine. They never laid a hand on me. I'm…I'm just tiered."

"You know, you could use a distraction from all this, to take some time off, take a break. And I think I have something in mind if you aren't already planning to say no to any invitation to do something", Zack informed the small blond, turning the candidate gently to face him, and placing a toned hand on each of the blonde's pale shoulders.

Still studying the ground, the small blond responded in the only way he seemed capable of responding at this time, by nodding once timidly. "Well, I was thinking", Zack began his explanation, pausing and biting his lower lip, "that I could bring you out to celebrate your eighteenth this Saturday. After all, people say that the eighteenth is one of the important ones, and I'd hate to see you go without celebrating it."

Shock was now the element keeping Cloud silent. Finally making eye contact for the first time since he looked down, the blond began to try and push words from his mouth. "How", Cloud started in no more than a whisper, his voicing cracking from the dryness in his mouth. The blond swallowed once to wet his mouth and throat before stuttering on in a volume just shy of a normal level, "How did you know my birthday was coming up? I don't remember telling you when it was."

Zack laughed nervously and released one of the blonde's shoulders to scratch the back of his head. "Well, I kind of had to dig for that information, but I swear you'll find the method I used was far from creepy", Zack answered awkwardly, still rubbing a tanned hand up and down over the back of his head.

"And you found out by…", Cloud questioned with a raised eyebrow, pulling his chin in to look at the black haired operative at an angle.

"I went through your roommate, Kitami. I had remembered you mentioning your birthday wasn't too far off, and I thought it'd be fun to help you celebrate. But…I couldn't find you, so when I ran into Kitami, I asked him. Fortunately he knew and was willing to tell me. So there you have it, the secret to my super sleuth abilities…sheer luck", Zack laughed closing his eyes with a cheerful grin.

"Oh", Cloud mumbled looking back down at the ground, "Well, it sounds like a fun idea…to spend time with you this Saturday. I mean, it would be great if you helped me celebrate. I didn't really do anything for my last birthday, so it would be really nice to do something this year."

Zack opened his vibrant eyes and admired Cloud's soft face. The operative felt his chest tighten as he opened his mouth to express the second half of his idea. He licked his lips yet again and took a deep breath. "That's great. Now… I was wondering if you'd let me take you out."

The operative could see the candidate's brow crease in confusion, but that wasn't the only feature displaying an emotion. The candidate's cheeks flushed red at the remark, and his lips were twitching as if he wanted to ask something.

With a heavy sigh, Zack used tan hand to lift Cloud's delicate chin, raising the younger youth's eyes so that they made eye contact. "What I mean is…I want to take you out…on a date…for your birthday", the older youth whispered in clarification of his earlier statement.

Cloud's eyes grew wider from shock, and his light lips parted slightly as he searched for words to use in response. Zack felt his heart pound helplessly against his ribs, and he swallowed hard, praying the risk he had just taken paid off.

"I", Cloud finally broke the dead silence, a deeper shade of red settling in a thin line over the bridge of his nose and upper cheeks, "I'd…like that… a lot."

A wide grin broke out on the operatives face, the tension and fear melting away like snow when spring first begins. Releasing the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Zack pulled Cloud into a light embrace, wrapping his arms around the younger youth's lithe, toned body.

Cloud's scent was over whelming, and Zack could feel his heart begin to soar with the delight of being able to hold his crush like this.

…………..

Cloud let his head rest on Zack's chest, as the older youth pulled him in for an affectionate embrace. His shoulder's shook, not from exhaustion, but from a quiet suppressed laugh of pure delight. He closed his eyes in bliss and allowed himself to become lost in the moment.

Finally feeling enough of his arms to move them, the blond wrapped them around the dark haired youth's waist brining him self even closer. He interlaced his fingers behind the operative's back, and held tightly to him, afraid that this too was a dream and that he would wake up at any second to find that this wasn't really happening.

Zack leaned back, gently pushing the small blond back a few inches, and smiled lovingly down at him. "Can I…take your reaction to this to mean that you've liked me back for at least a little while now?", the older youth questioned hopefully.

Shrinking back Cloud closed his eyes and nodded once in response. Before the blond was able to reopen his eyes, Zack placed a gentle kiss on Cloud's soft lips.

The kiss was short, but it was more than enough to send Cloud's heart racing from the contact. He released a long slow breath as he felt Zack's lips pull away and he steadily opened his eyes to gaze into the operative's bright blue ones.

"I'm sorry", Zack apologized, "if I moved a little to fast with that. Just tell me if I'm taking this all too fast and I'll…"

The dark haired youth was cut off when Cloud rose up and placed a gentle return kiss on the operative's lips, lingering for a few seconds before pulling back and saying, "Your kiss to me was my first, and that was my second."

Near by Reno sniffled as he continued to make himself busy by staring up at the stars. "Not so sure about that one blondie, but I think Zack telling you he already stole your first kiss is more of a fifth date kind of thing", the Turk muttered in amusement under his breath.

Although the Turks words never reached the couple, his sniffle did eventually register and Zack looked up at the young red head. "Uh, I guess an apology should have been aimed at you, Reno. Sorry bout that. I could imagine that was at least a little awkward for you", the operative grinned at his friend.

"Heh, don't you worry about me. No one else does", Reno replied shaking his head, "Besides, I already told you the whole guy/guy thing doesn't bother me. And as long as you guys don't start getting too, uh, passionate, the whole kiss thing doesn't bother me either."

Zack sent Reno a friendly smile and nod to thank his friend for being so understanding as well as to show gratitude for Reno's surprising patience, which seemed to occur on a random basis. Meanwhile Cloud once again became absolutely silent and still, lowering his eyes to stare at his feet and turning a light shade of pink.

"You might want to switch back to consoling blondie", the Turk chuckled, shifting his weight primarily onto his left foot and folding his arms across his chest, "'Cause it looks like he's not much of an exhibitionist, and you just reminded him I'm here."

Before Zack could say anything, Cloud shook his head, mumbling, "Don't worry about it…I mean I'm not one, but I'm ok. I was just worried we made it awkward for him, and he just said we didn't."

The operative smiled warmly and ruffled Cloud's already messy blond hair with his free hand and wrapped his other arm back around the small blonde's shoulders. "Alright, alright", Zack laughed sliding his hand down Cloud's back and arm to hold the blonde's pale hand, "Enough with the standing around in the middle of a deserted side street. Let's get back inside the compound. After all, it's getting late and you, Cloud, need to get some rest if you want to make it through your workout tomorrow."

"You say that as if I should be expecting an above average day tomorrow", the blond groaned, letting his shoulders sag.

"I might have over heard one of the officers talking about some endurance building stuff, but I bet you'll do just fine", Zack let slip, squeezing the blonde's hand and leading the way back to the main street in front of the SOLDIER compound.

Cloud sighed and allowed him self to be led by the older youth. The three walked casually down the side street and back out on to the larger street running along the wall of the compound, and continued on, making their way slowly back. Reno and Zack chatted calmly and Cloud simply walked along in silence, content in holding Zack's hand.

"Hey Zack", Cloud suddenly asked just before the three walked around the last corner onto the main road.

Zack stopped along with the blond and looked over at him with a smile, waiting for the younger youth to continue. "I…almost can't believe this. I mean, I never expected you to have this sort of interest in me", Cloud muttered staring at his feet, adding, "Not that I'm not happy about it. I really am, I just…can't help but feel this is almost too good to be true …considering how everything else has been going for me."

Laughing, Zack shouldered the small youth, sending the small one off balance. Holding on tight to the small youth's hand, Zack kept him from falling over. "Now", Zack mock scolded, "haven't I taught you anything. I'm pretty sure I have."

Cloud cocked his head in confusion, knitting his blond eyebrows together. With an exaggerated sigh, the dark haired youth continued, "Remember? Lesson number one, expect the unexpected."

Releasing a heavy breath in amusement, falling short of a single laugh, Cloud smiled weakly, shaking his head. "How did I not see that coming?"

The taller man laughed at the smaller one's question and started walking forward again, only to jerk his own arm when Cloud didn't budge. Looking back at his crush, now practically boyfriend, he asked, "Something else on your mind?"

"Well…", the small blond mumbled, coaxed on by a gentle tug of his arm, "I was wondering if you've helped me more than you've made obvious…and I'm referring back to when I was beaten up. I was certain I would be cut, maybe not because I was in a fight, but because I would fall behind the group. You…had something to do with that, didn't you?"

The operative shifted his weight over to one side and smirked. "What makes you think that? I have nothing to do with any matters concerning candidates, technically speaking", he questioned, bright eyes lit up with curiosity.

"I wasn't exactly standing out, not to any extreme extent anyway. None of the officers would have hesitated to send me home, without even considering the time out I had to take to heal. I wasn't performing to the same standards as the others for a time, so I should be gone. But I'm still here, and that means someone fought to keep me in…and", Cloud walked the dark haired youth through his reasoning, beginning to trail off, "you're the only person I have the attention of in anyway that has any sort of 'power'. So, how did you do it? How did you get the officers to not cut me?"

Zack gave the small blond a large grin, holding up his fingers to form a peace sign, "I asked a friend to help me reason with the morons in charge. It was no big deal. In fact my friend already thought the officials were being stupid if they cut you because you were a little behind from being on bed rest. After all, that time out wasn't your fault."

Cloud slumped his shoulders and fixed his eyes on the pavement a few feet ahead of him. Zack had saved him from being sent packing, and to do it the operative had technically called in a favor. This favor could have been saved to serve the operative himself, but instead he had used it on Cloud. The idea left the small blond feeling like a bit of a burden.

"Thank you", Cloud muttered, "But at the same time I'm sorry. You wasted a favor on me that you could have saved for your self…And…if you don't mind me asking…who was it that you asked to help you?"

The dark haired operative gained a goofy grin, closing his eyes to form two arcs. "Just a long time friend, and really, it was no problem. I didn't 'waste' a favor. I asked a friend for help", Zack reassured the blond, then quickly added, "Oh, and speaking of this friend of mine, I was going to introduce you to him as soon as I get the chance, you have the time, and he becomes available. Maybe this Saturday will work for him…"

"Sounds good to me", Cloud smiled, looking up at the older youth, "but do I get a hint about who he is?"

Walking backwards, Zack pulled the blond forward on to the well lit main road, light spilling over his features and illuminating him to his entirety. Zack's mako blue eyes glowed in the lamp light, and his smile radiated far more now that there was light to be reflected. "I guess I can give you a hint. And that hint will be…to expect the unexpected", the operative answered playfully.

Cloud screwed his eyes shut, completing a pained expression. "Please jut tell me it isn't Commander Guile", the blond begged, cracking a pale eye open to watch the older youth.

Zack jerked back in shock at the guess and then made a mock disgusted expression. "I said 'expect the unexpected' not 'expect the impossible'. Trust me, Tall-dark-and-pisssy and I don't exactly get along", he assured.

With a sigh of relief, Cloud relaxed and his expression softened back up. Striding into the lamp light, red hair glistening and eyes shinning, Reno chimed in, "I'll bet Commander Stick-up-his-ass doesn't exactly get along with anyone. From what I've heard out of Zack and a few others, the man's on a constant power trip. The only people that don't mind him are the one's he favors."

"Cloud", Shin yelled, trotting over to the three waving a hand excitedly, "You look like you're in good shape, so I guess that means Zack and Reno found you in time…Not that I don't think you can't take care of your self. It just looked like you were about to become severely out numbered."

"Uh yea, I'm fine. But how did you…", the blond replied trailing off as a thought occurred to him, "Now that I think about it, how did any of you know I was in trouble?"

Shin bumped Cloud in the shoulder with a fist, giving the blond a short wink. "I was on the roof when I heard a door down below slam open. When I looked down I spotted you on the street along with some other guys. When I saw you take off running and those guys take off after you, I kinda just put the pieces together", the cheerful roommate explained roughly.

"And that's when he ran into me", Zack jumped in, "I had just gotten back and was heading for the barracks when he came haling ass out the front doors of the barracks, running right into me. Shin told me what he saw and I came running to find you after I sent him after Reno."

Pouting the Turk finished the explanation. "And my part was already explained. As Zack said, he sent your roommate, Shin, after me. He found me, I came running", the red head sighed using his own thumb to point back at himself.

"I guess that means out of the three of you it's you, Shin, that I owe the most of my thanks to", Cloud began to thank his friend but ended short after noticing how Shin kept glancing down between he and Zack and then back up at him.

Cloud looked down as soon as Shin looked down again, following his friends gaze to figure out what exactly had been grabbing at his friend's attention. His hand was still intertwined with Zack's, and Cloud didn't blame Shin for having his attention divided because of that little detail. After all, Shin could be a curious person and two guys holding hands the way he and Zack were wasn't common.

Until now, Cloud hadn't thought anything about what had developed between him and the black haired operative. For the first time the blond found him self faced with anxiety not related to being on time or dealing with bullies.

The blond felt his chest grow heavy. All of the muscles in his body, especially the ones in his back and neck, tense. How was Shin going to take the development? What if this light hearted man turned out to have a problem with this kind of thing?

His roommate had always seemed to be unfazed by everything, and Cloud wanted to believe he was worrying for nothing. But some part of him worried that Shin wasn't going to be quite so accepting, and he didn't want to lose Shin as a friend. Why? Because Shin had been one of the few he trusted, and one of the only ones that could be around him almost twenty for seven. Losing the brown haired man as a support would leave him utterly lacking in defenses…not that was the only reason the blond wanted the other man around.

Zack, picking up on Cloud's sudden tension, pulled the blond forward into him, turning the small candidate around so that they both faced the same direction. Wrapping his arms around the blonde's upper body, Zack teased, "I get the feeling your more up tight then your roommate is about this."

Cloud blushed and, out of habit, shrunk back, but found him self only brining him self closer to the older youth behind him. "Wait, you aren't actually freaked about me finding out, are you?", Shin asked placing a hand on his own chest and pulling back a bit.

In response, Cloud could only attempt to shrink back further. The blond was a little embarrassed he was acting the way he was the second the brunette responded to Zack's tease.

A broad smile spread over Shin's proportioned lips. "Hey, I'm probably one of the best people to find out about this. I understand not everyone is so open to this, but I am. I'll even go so far as to tell you if you need anyone to cover for you, because you want to keep this relationship quiet, I'll do it", the light hearted young man offered.

The blond straitened back up and gave a small meek smile in thanks. "I appreciate the offer but…I don't know if it's completely necessary to cover up…" Cloud started only to be silenced by the slight tightening of Zack's arms.

"I appreciate you willingness to be open about are developing relationship spiky, but it would probably be best if we kept it quiet. Believe me, I'd like to be open with it, but seeing as how you are already a target for other reasons, we would only be painting a bigger target on you. That and Commander Guile would get all pissed if he found out, and he'd never leave us alone…Or he'd give you an extra hard time just because your with me", Zack justified his reason for making the final decision for both of them.

"Hey ah…speaking of the pissy devil", Reno coughed the last bit, shoving both hand into his coat pockets, "Here he comes now."

Alarmed, the dark haired youth released the blond in his arm and stepped back, swinging his muscled arms at his side. Cloud turned to face Zack and Reno, shifting to stand a little closer to Shin, attempting to keep his eyes on the other men and off of the fast approaching Commander.

"SOLDIER second class Fair, still messing with my candidates are we?", the commander asked in a venomous tone, pausing long enough to eye Reno darkly, "And introducing them to spineless Turks while your at it."

Zack side stepped so that Reno bounced off his back, preventing the fiery red head from pouncing on the cynical man. "So mean Commander", Zack countered keeping him self between Reno and the commander, "I find Reno to be excellent support when on missions. And I fail to see how I am messing with your candidates. Last time I checked there was no rule prohibiting SOLDIER operatives and candidates from mingling."

Guiles lips thinned as he sneered at Zack. Not wanting to leave the operative the chance to verbally counter, the commander drew back his shoulders and forced him self to stand a few inched taller. Expressing his authority to the fullest, Guile marched on; chin lifted as if he was some aristocrat and the small group was a pack of commoners.

Reno succeeded in staying quiet…until the commander was out of ear shot, at which point the red head exploded hissing, "If that's how you're going to be to me, than see if I ever save your ass if you ever need help. At least I'll take my sweat time getting to you."

"Hey Reno", Zack interrupted the outburst, causing Reno to freeze while his fist was still raised, "Shouldn't you be getting back so you can report in?"

The red head practically pulled a three-sixty, changing from agitated and angry to an "oh-yea" state. The Turk's expression lightened up, his eyes losing their dark glow, and his frown turning into his trademark smirk. Giving a thumbs-up to complete the transformation, Reno confirmed, "Yea, you're right. I should go report in, so I'll see you guys later. And Cloud…"

The blond tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow, to ask "yes?". The Turk strode over and curled an arm loosely around Cloud's neck and tousled the candidate's spiky hair. "You take care. I want a chance to work with you, and it'll happen sooner if you stay out of trouble", Reno finished happily, his gray-blue eyes flashing a serious "I mean it" look at the blond.

Releasing Cloud from his playful hold, Reno started off down the street, raising a hand to send a peace sign back over his shoulder. "You can count on it", Cloud called after him.

The first member of the gathering on their way set the others of the group in motion. Zack, like he had for Reno, urged the two candidates to start walking towards the compound, pointing out that it was "getting latter by the second", and that they would be "enduring one hell of a work out tomorrow". Both candidates released a groan at the reminder, and commenced the process of dragging their feet all the way back to their rooms.

Just before passing through the front doors, Zack raised an arm to block Shin from walking around the open door and into the building. Glancing over to make sure Cloud was still walking, and was out of ear shot for whispering, Zack whispered anxiously, "Shin, can I count on you and Kitami to keep an eye on him? I don't doubt his abilities or strength, he has them, they are there. It's just that I fear what could happen if those jerks actually manage to gain an advantage on him."

Shin responded by bowing his head and closing his eyes. Reopening his dark eyes, the candidate deliberately made eye contact with Zack. Zack bowed his head in return with a soft smile as thanks.

The three walked together all the way back to the barracks, parting ways once they reached the third floor. The two candidates exited the stairwell to return to their room, while the dark haired operative continued his trek up to return to his own room.

Unfortunately, Zack and Cloud would be unable to spend the up coming Saturday as they had just recently planned to.

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**A/N: **I do believe that I have just ended this chapter with something you would call a cliff hanger. *smirks* Just remember that if you kill me for it I can't write the next chapter, and then where would you be?

Total word count for this chapter: 9,019…the shortest chapter I've given you yet. But I don't see that as a bad thing. It's still an acceptable length in my eyes. ^^

Now I will finish as is customary; Press the button below that contains the word "**review**" I can't tell you how much I like getting reviews, nor can I express how much they help me to keep writing. (Please review even if you're just answering a question I have asked.)

**Question for the chapter:** Which character would you like to see more of? And why. (You don't have to limit yourself to characters that appeared only in this chapter. It can be any character from any part of the story. Just don't tell me "the random guy from chapter__". Also don't tell me Zack or Cloud because they are the main characters, which means you will automatically be seeing more of them…They're in every chapter)


	6. Ch 6: Trials and Truths

**A/N: Yikes, please don't hurt me... and sadly before you say "I forgive you" look at the scroll bar. *hides behind overturned table* Nor before you kill me let me explain. **

**I felt really bad about not updating in a while so I'm putting what I have for this chapter up now. When I finish the rest I'll put the whole thing up... But I guess that make this a teaser then... . Crap. Well now that I have put this much up, I'll have more motivation to get the rest up. **

**Now for the rest of my explanation. 1. Writers block *cries* It's haunting me. 2. Final exams. In college they take up a lot of time even though they are spread throughout the week. 3. A-Kon. No not the rapper. I'm talking about the convention. There was a week or so where I was geting ready for it. (It was on the weekend of May 30th. For those of you who went to it, If you saw a real kick ass Gaara that was missing the gourd...that was me ^^. Even if he looked like a dude it was me. I'm a crosplayer and it suits me XD. Oh and I was walking around with a Misa almost all weekend.)**

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**Ch 6: Trials and Truth**

"Strife", Tory's hollow even pitched voice drifted from the door way, as the roommate glided into the room towards his bed which was to the left of Cloud's.

Cloud lazily sat up on his elbows, eyes locked on to the jade eyed man as he glided through the room with a grace that never failed to send shivers of discomfort up the blonde's spine. The grace and silence in which Tory moved was paranormal. There should have been no way for him to move the way he did and yet he was. It was unnerving since the beginning but it hadn't been until recently that Cloud had truly taken a notice to it, and it was bothering him with each and every second the jade eyed man was around him.

Tory leaned and opened the trunk at the foot of his bead as he passed it, rounded the corner of the bead, and sat gracefully on the edge of his bed, back to Cloud. The blond frowned at this and fell back down onto his bed. If the source of a large portion of his anxiety was going to bother speaking to him, the man might as well have something to actually say as opposed to just addressing him and then ignoring him.

Irritated, Cloud eyed the object of his discomfort wondering if by chance the man would actually continue, but by the looks of it the man had decided there was nothing to be said after all. Jade eyes locked with the blonde's pale blue, startling Cloud out of his irritated thoughts. Tory smirked at the expression Cloud hadn't realized he had gained.

The expression lasted mere seconds before the blond frowned once more. He turned to gaze back up the ceiling. "Did you think you heard me speak and have now decided that I didn't, or are you just ignoring me? If it's the later of the two, I'll stop _bothering _you if you will be so kind as to make it clear you are disregarding me", the roommate shot off coldly in his hollow voice.

Irritation renewed, Cloud sat back up on his elbows and forced him self to make eye contact with Tory, tying his best to make it as intense as he could. He wanted to make it clear that he too didn't want to be wasting his time. If the man had something to say to him, he needed to say it, and if his actions right now weren't enough to say "you have my attention", Cloud wasn't sure what else would.

Of course the second the smaller candidate made the intense eye contact, the older man turned his head almost arrogantly away. Cloud was starting to get pissed. Was Tory just going to keep addressing him without saying anything of importance, or was he going to spit out sometime in the near future?

"Such hostility you have towards me Strife. I really wish you would let go of the past", Tory sighed, his airy tone making it difficult for Cloud to determine if the statement had been sarcasm or not. Tory looked back over his shoulder reinstating eye contact before continuing on, completely changing subject, "Check the board at the end of the hall."

Cloud sighed in utter irritation. Of course Tory couldn't just tell the small candidate what was on the board that was so important. The blond tilted his head to the side, pretending he was waiting for the other man to continue. To his surprise, Tory smirked and added, "I didn't memorize the details specific to you, only the ones for me. So whether I tell you more now or not, you still have to go check the board for yourself."

Relaxing, the blond pushed him self the rest of the way up into a sitting position. Tory was difficult to read. For all Cloud knew, the man found amusement in occasionally sending people out of their way and taking up their time. Unfortunately, trying to push this candidate for details in attempt to authenticate the claim would prove futile. If this guy didn't want to speak, he wouldn't speak.

As sarcastic and deceitful as Tory's airy voice always sounded, Cloud couldn't help but feel that the man never really lied, but at the same time he had the feeling the man had no problems telling little fibs they were to get under someone's skin…or if they were highly beneficial. Partly because he didn't want to take a chance there really was something on the board and it was important and partly because he believed Tory, the blond swung his legs over the side of his bed and got up to go check out the board for the alleged information that had been posted.

As life would have it, Tory hadn't been lying. Cloud had already determined this as he walked up to the large rectangular cork board that was at the three way intersection marking the "end" of the hall he was staying on. The first thing that caught his eye was the three papers pinned up side by side off to the right side of the board that looked to be a list of some sort.

The next thing the blond noticed was another paper centered above the three lists. In bold lettering the page read "Candidates scheduled for Mako testing and acclimation (listed by date and then by time of appointment)".

"I'm guessing this is what Tory wanted me to see, and based on what he was saying; my name is on here somewhere", Cloud muttered to him self moving his eyes from the bold print to the first page of "appointments". He placed his right index finger on the first row and skimmed it over the page to the third column header that read "candidate name". Slowly he traced his finger down the length of the first page in search of his name.

Not finding his name on the first page he moved on to the second, once again tracing his finger down the length of the name column, but once again he didn't find his name amongst the listed ones. He side stepped over to the third page and he began tracing his finger down the length of the page once more.

Only a few rows down, Cloud stopped his finger alongside his name. "Looks like I am here after all", Cloud thought out loud, "But why did Tory know I was on here? Did he look for my name intentionally?"

The blond almost instantly found that Tory had most likely not been looking for his name, because one name below his was Himora, Tory. So it turned out the only reason why his roommate knew his name was on here was because their names had ended up one right after the other, which was comforting in its own right. Cloud wasn't so sure he liked the idea of Tory looking for any information pertaining to him, but knowing by coincidence wasn't as bad.

Now calmer for the discovery, the blond traced his finger over the row to the left to check the date and time of his set appointment. His shoulders sagged and his lips drooped into a slight frown. He had been scheduled for Saturday.

Cloud shook his head. What was he getting so depressed about? It wasn't like this appointment could possibly take all day.

He sighed and moved one column back over to the right to check the time he was scheduled for. According to the posted information he was scheduled for ten in the morning. The blond smirked, scolding him self mentally for getting so depressed for nothing. He and Zack weren't planning to go any where until around seven in the evening, and a nine hour gap was more than enough to ensure he would still be able to make it.

…………..

Dinner time eventually came, and Cloud, without a second thought, retrieved his meal and retreated back into the far corner of the mess hall. Just as the blond was settling in, the long bench jerked slightly, almost causing the blond youth to knock over his full glass of red juice. He sighed in relief after quickly stabilizing the glass preventing all but a few drops of the remarkably satisfying and sweet drink.

A hand reached over and roughly ruffled his spiky hair playfully, jerking the blonde's body once more, his blue eyes drooping in exasperation as the glass he had just saved shook in his hand and small waves of his drink sloshed over the sides of the glass and down onto his tray.

"You know I'd like it if I could drink this, not clean the table with it or wear it", Cloud sighed already knowing exactly who was ruffling his hair.

"Sorry didn't mean to make you spill your drink blonde, but I can't help myself. I just love messing with your hair. It's softer than mine", Zack laughed while more delicately running his hand through Cloud's hair before folding his arms and leaning onto the table.

Cloud gave the older youth a quick smile and released his drinking glass so he could pick up his fork. After taking a bite of what appeared to be the main entrée on his plate, which he still hadn't bothered to identify, Cloud muttered, "They've scheduled me for Mako testing on Saturday but it's in the morning, so I'll still be able to go out in the evening."

Zack's smile faded faster then Cloud had ever seen anything disappear. The blond put his fork down to better study the new expression that took the place of Zack's usually carefree one. Was Mako testing really bad news at this point?

The dark haired operative shook his head slowly, "Cloud you may be unable to do anything on Saturday, or Sunday for that matter, after the Mako injection. Do you remember some of the side effects I told you about?"

It was now Cloud's turn to change his expression and a soft un-intentional pout formed over his delicate lips. "So those side effects stay around for twenty-four to forty-eight hours?", the small blond asked dropping his gaze to the table.

**A/N: Well that's what I got so far. I hope to have the rest up within a week. And again. *begs* Please don't kill me.**


	7. Ch 6: Trial and Truths Complete

**A/N: Ummm, well....**

**I GIVE YOU CHAPTER 6! (Finally complete. You will all be...pleased...to hear that I had it pretty much done for ever now but I couldn't seem make a good break off point. But i think I got it there.)**

**I hope that now I've got myself back that I can keep this story coming like I used to. That said I would like to thank two very special readers for being there for me. You two really have be come good friends to me to some extent. And I hope you two know who you are. *hint hint* Chinchila. *nudge nudge* GFS. Thanks you two. I also want to say thank you to those who have continued to follow this story even though my updates dropped off there for a while. Ahem, anyway. Sentiments aside...**

**As always I do not own Finaly Fantasy. And now, please enjoy.**

**Ch 6: Trials and Truths**

"Strife", Tory's hollow even pitched voice drifted from the door way, as the roommate glided into the room towards his bed which was to the left of Cloud's.

Cloud lazily sat up on his elbows, eyes locked on to the jade eyed man as he glided through the room with a grace that never failed to send shivers of discomfort up the blonde's spine. The grace and silence in which Tory moved was paranormal. There should have been no way for him to move the way he did and yet he was. It was unnerving since the beginning but it hadn't been until recently that Cloud had truly taken a notice to it, and it was bothering him with each and every second the jade eyed man was around him.

Tory leaned and opened the trunk at the foot of his bead as he passed it, rounded the corner of the bead, and sat gracefully on the edge of his bed, back to Cloud. The blond frowned at this and fell back down onto his bed. If the source of a large portion of his anxiety was going to bother speaking to him, the man might as well have something to actually say as opposed to just addressing him and then ignoring him.

Irritated, Cloud eyed the object of his discomfort wondering if by chance the man would actually continue, but by the looks of it the man had decided there was nothing to be said after all. Jade eyes locked with the blonde's pale blue, startling Cloud out of his irritated thoughts. Tory smirked at the expression Cloud hadn't realized he had gained.

The expression lasted mere seconds before the blond frowned once more. He turned to gaze back up the ceiling. "Did you think you heard me speak and have now decided that I didn't, or are you just ignoring me? If it's the later of the two, I'll stop _bothering _you if you will be so kind as to make it clear you are disregarding me", the roommate shot off coldly in his hollow voice.

Irritation renewed, Cloud sat back up on his elbows and forced him self to make eye contact with Tory, tying his best to make it as intense as he could. He wanted to make it clear that he too didn't want to be wasting his time. If the man had something to say to him, he needed to say it, and if his actions right now weren't enough to say "you have my attention", Cloud wasn't sure what else would.

Of course the second the smaller candidate made the intense eye contact, the older man turned his head almost arrogantly away. Cloud was starting to get pissed. Was Tory just going to keep addressing him without saying anything of importance, or was he going to spit out sometime in the near future?

"Such hostility you have towards me Strife. I really wish you would let go of the past", Tory sighed, his airy tone making it difficult for Cloud to determine if the statement had been sarcasm or not. Tory looked back over his shoulder reinstating eye contact before continuing on, completely changing subject, "Check the board at the end of the hall."

Cloud sighed in utter irritation. Of course Tory couldn't just tell the small candidate what was on the board that was so important. The blond tilted his head to the side, pretending he was waiting for the other man to continue. To his surprise, Tory smirked and added, "I didn't memorize the details specific to you, only the ones for me. So whether I tell you more now or not, you still have to go check the board for yourself."

Relaxing, the blond pushed him self the rest of the way up into a sitting position. Tory was difficult to read. For all Cloud knew, the man found amusement in occasionally sending people out of their way and taking up their time. Unfortunately, trying to push this candidate for details in attempt to authenticate the claim would prove futile. If this guy didn't want to speak, he wouldn't speak.

As sarcastic and deceitful as Tory's airy voice always sounded, Cloud couldn't help but feel that the man never really lied, but at the same time he had the feeling the man had no problems telling little fibs if they were to get under someone's skin…or if they were highly beneficial. Partly because he didn't want to take a chance there really was something on the board and it was important and partly because he believed the cold eyed older youth, the blond swung his legs over the side of his bed and got up to go check out the board for the alleged information that had been posted.

As life would have it, Tory hadn't been lying. Cloud was convinced of this as he walked up to the large rectangular cork board that was at the three way intersection marking the "end" of the hall he was staying on. The first thing that caught his eye were three papers pinned up side by side off to the right side of the board that all appeared to be some sort of lists.

The next thing the blond noticed was another paper centered above the three lists. In bold lettering the page read "Candidates scheduled for Mako testing and acclimation (listed by date and then by time of appointment)".

"I'm guessing this is what Tory wanted me to see, and based on what he was saying; my name is on here somewhere", Cloud muttered to him self moving his eyes from the bold print to the first page of "appointments". He placed his right index finger on the first row and skimmed it over the page to the third column header that read "candidate name". Slowly he traced his finger down the length of the first page in search of his name.

Not finding his name on the first page he moved on to the second, once again tracing his finger down the length of the name column, but once again he didn't find his name amongst the listed ones. He side stepped over to the third page and he began tracing his finger down the length of the page once more.

Only a few rows down, Cloud stopped his finger alongside his name. "Looks like I am here after all", Cloud thought out loud, "But why did Tory know I was on here? Did he look for my name intentionally?"

The blond almost instantly found that other youth had most likely not been looking for his name, because one name below his was Himora, Tory. So it turned out the only reason why his roommate knew his name was on here was because their names had ended up one right after the other, which was comforting in its own right. Cloud wasn't so sure he liked the idea of his least trusted roommate looking for any information pertaining to him, but knowing by coincidence wasn't so bad.

Now calmer for the discovery, the blond traced his finger over the row to the left to check the date and time of his set appointment. His shoulders sagged and his lips drooped into a slight frown. He had been scheduled for Saturday.

Cloud shook his head. What was he getting so depressed about? It wasn't like this appointment could possibly take all day.

He sighed and moved one column back over to the right to check the time he was scheduled for. According to the posted information he was scheduled for ten in the morning. The blond smirked, scolding him self mentally for getting so depressed for nothing. He and Zack weren't planning to go any where until around seven in the evening, and a nine hour gap was more than enough to ensure he would still be able to make it.

…………..

Dinner time eventually came, and Cloud, without a second thought, retrieved his meal and retreated back into the far corner of the mess hall. Just as the blond was settling in, the long bench jerked slightly, almost causing the blond youth to knock over his full glass of red juice. He sighed in relief after quickly stabilizing the glass preventing all but a few drops of the remarkably satisfying and sweet drink.

A hand reached over and roughly ruffled his spiky hair playfully, jerking the blonde's body once more, his blue eyes drooping in exasperation as the glass he had just saved shook in his hand and small waves of his drink sloshed over the sides of the glass and down onto his tray.

"You know I'd like it if I could drink this, not clean the table with it or wear it", Cloud sighed already knowing exactly who was ruffling his hair.

"Sorry didn't mean to make you spill your drink blonde, but I can't help myself. I just love messing with your hair. It's softer than mine", Zack laughed while more delicately running his hand through Cloud's hair before folding his arms and leaning onto the table.

Cloud gave the older youth a quick smile and released his drinking glass so he could pick up his fork. After taking a bite of what appeared to be the main entre on his plate, which he still hadn't bothered to identify, Cloud muttered, "They've scheduled me for Mako testing on Saturday but it's in the morning, so I'll still be able to go out in the evening."

Zack's smile faded faster then Cloud had ever seen anything disappear. The blond put his fork down to better study the new expression that took the place of Zack's usually carefree one. Was Mako testing really bad news at this point?

The dark haired operative shook his head slowly, "Cloud you may be unable to do anything on Saturday, or Sunday for that matter, after the Mako injection. Do you remember some of the side effects I told you about?"

It was now Cloud's turn to change his expression and a soft un-intentional pout formed over his delicate lips. "So those side effects stay around for twenty-four to forty-eight hours?", the small blond asked dropping his gaze to the table.

Zack nodded and released a depressed sigh but quickly put on a comforting smile as soon as he took in the small blondes almost heart broken expression. "Hey cheer up a little", Zack half whispered in a gentle and calm voice, "We can still spend time together, it just might not be the best day for us to go out into town or anything. Plus, the Mako testing is a good sign. Putting you through testing earlier on means you have been noted as one of the ones they have more confidence in."

The older operative's gentle smile and voice was enough to coax a feeble smile out of Cloud. Although the blond felt comforted by the words, he still couldn't help but feel a little depressed. He had really been looking forward to celebrating his birthday and it was looking like the little celebration was quickly going down the drain. After all, it wasn't like they could go any sooner than Saturday. Training restricted him to the base until Friday night, and the only reason he wasn't keen on going out Friday night was because of how his training left him feeling afterwards. There was no way he would have the energy to go out after training on Friday.

A strong arm reached around Cloud and a firm hand closed on his shoulder, pulling the blond closer to the well toned body of the operative sitting next to him. "Don't worry; I'm not just gunna give up on you just because we have to reschedule our date", Zack started with a grin, giving Cloud's delicate shoulders a firm squeeze, "I promise I'll happily wait until your next available day, and then we'll go out, just the two of us, and celebrate your birthday. I know it'll be a little late then, but better late then never, right?"

Cloud could only give the operative another weak smile and a feeble nod. Zack gave him another squeeze and the blond was able to give him a more genuine smile. Zack was right. They may not be able to go out but they could still spend time together, and it wasn't like Saturday night was the only chance the two of them could go out into town.

…………..

Obnoxious beeping broke into Cloud's peaceful sleep causing the candidate to wearily open his blue eyes to stare at the bland ceiling of his room. It was Saturday wasn't it? Then why in the world was he waking up to his alarm?

He blinked slowly and continued to gaze at the ceiling. 'Oh yea, that's right', the blond thought to himself slowly, 'I have that Mako testing thing this morning. But…that's not till ten. Why did I set my alarm for such an early time? I could have slept longer…'

Still groggy and puzzling through the decision, Cloud rolled onto his side to slap a hand down on to his still beeping alarm. His hand lingered over the device for a few moments while he debated between just simply rolling over and going back to sleep, though he probably wouldn't be able to get him self to sleep in past another hour or two from now, and simply getting up.

With a sigh, Cloud decided to be on the side of caution and get up in case there was something he needed to get done before his appointment that he just wasn't remembering at this time. If it turned out he had set the alarm without thinking last night and there was nothing he was forgetting about, than at the very least he would be able to enjoy a quiet peaceful breakfast in the cafeteria.

Not without difficulty, the blond candidate forced himself to go about his morning routine and to dress himself in a set of his own clothes instead of one of the uniforms provided by SOLDIER. Dressed in a pair of overly baggy black pants that held lightly to his delicate hips, a casual baggy gray t-shirt that was beginning to fray at the bottom, and worn dark leather boots, Cloud left his room and began the trek down to the cafeteria.

Just as the young blond made it through the sliding doors into the mess hall he remembered why he had gotten up at seven instead of sleeping till nine. He was meeting Zack and Reno for breakfast. Reno had wanted to wish the blond happy birthday on his birthday but the only chance he would have to do that was in the early morning because the red head was getting sent out on assignment for the day. So in a way this was like a birthday breakfast of sorts, though it probably would have been more complete, Cloud realized, if Kitami and Shin had been there as well.

Getting through the food line with more speed than was normally possible, Cloud scanned the nearly empty mess hall for Zack and Reno. It was proving far more difficult than it should have been considering Zack could hardly ever hold still, even while eating, and Reno had bright fiery red hair, both traits being ones that should have demanded the eyes attention.

Finally Cloud spotted the black haired operative sitting at one of the tables on the far side of the mess from the food line waving a hand dramatically in the air to get his attention. The blond nodded and made his way toward the older man but was thoroughly confused as to why he wasn't seeing Reno. Once closer, however, Reno became visible. The Turk had his head down on the table next to his tray and a few of the people actually in the mess hall had been sitting in the right places to block the man from view.

Upon closer inspection the red haired Turk appeared to be dead, though Cloud doubted the man actually was. "Guess its safe to say Reno isn't a morning person", the blond muttered to himself as he approached the table.

"Hey, happy birthday", Zack half sung with a smile stepping around the table to put an arm around the young blond, "So hows it feel to be eighteen? Feel good?"

Cloud shrugged and allowed the dark haired operative to usher him around the table and onto the bench. The second the blonde's tray was out of his grasp, the older male gave him a strong one armed hug with the arm still around his shoulders. The blond went limp with the motion and allowed his head to rest on the older male's shoulder.

"Woe. Hey, are you ok? You seem a little…", Zack asked, concern tracing his delicately tanned features.

The blond muttered something into his boyfriend's shoulder and then let his head and neck go limp like the rest of his body. Startled by the response Zack gave the small blond a gentle shake. "Hey! Seriously, are you Ok?", Zack asked again starting to sound more than a little alarmed.

With a sigh, Cloud mustered up the strength to lift his head from Zack's shoulder, pulling his mouth clear of the other body. "I want more sleep. It feels too early", the blond muttered wearily before dropping his head back down to where it was before.

Relief spread over Zack's face within seconds and a gentle smile replaced the concerned frown upon his thin lips. Zack rubbed Cloud's shoulder and planted a soft kiss on top of the blonde's head before turning his head to look at Reno. "You hear that Reno? You're the reason Cloud's like this. He's tiered and it's your fault we had to do this birthday breakfast so early", the dark haired operative teased.

"Shove it Fair", came the muffled response of Reno who had opted to leave his head down on the table.

Eyes drooped in mock annoyance Zack responded, "How rude. You're the one who wanted to be able to wish Cloud a happy birthday before you left and you won't even pick your head up off the table to say anything."

With a groan, which sounded as if the Turk had tried to keep from releasing it, Reno picked his head up off the table and rubbed a hand over his face. "Ok. First I would like to say this situation is not my fault. I wanted to say happy birthday on his birthday. That's called being a good friend and last time I checked it's not a crime", Reno began to explain with a weary sigh and continued after putting up a finger to halt Zack before he started a counter, "How is it not my fault? Because I'm not the one that decided to send me out so god damn early. Believe me, if I had a say in the matter I wouldn't be leaving until closer to noon, but as things stand, I have no say."

Zack only gave an amused smirk as he propped his head up with his hand, careful to support the now half sleeping blond that was still leaning limply on him. Reno began to lower his head down onto the table once more but paused as an after thought. Head still up; the red haired man turned his face to look at Cloud. "Happy eighteenth Cloud", the young man wished with a smile.

Once more, Cloud collected the energy to move. The blond unburied his face from the operatives shoulder to give the Turk a soft smile of gratitude. "Thanks Reno and if it means anything to you, I'm not blaming anything on you", the youngest member of the group responded.

Reno smiled more broadly with Cloud's opinion of things telling Cloud that his opinion did mean something to the Turk. "Aww, come on guys. You two are starting to make me out as the bad guy", the dark haired man half protested against the silent accusations.

With an amused smirk, the Turk sat upright in his seat and started sorting through the eggs on his plate. Zack looked to his left when he felt the weight on his shoulder lift and discovered Cloud giving him one of his gentle, and somehow teasing, smiles. The blond shifted carefully in his seat to sit more comfortably on his own and began to enjoy his breakfast.

"No way! Are you two really giving me the silent treatment?! Oh come on", Zack exclaimed maybe a little too loudly for the time of morning it was, but no one really seemed to be paying him much attention…including Reno and Cloud.

…………..

The morning passed by quickly and ten o'clock came up faster on Cloud than he felt comfortable with. Stomach turning, and his throat dry, Cloud made his way to the medical ward, not really knowing what to expect. True Zack had told him what things might be like for him after the Mako testing, but he didn't know what the Mako testing and injection would be like.

When Cloud had asked Zack after breakfast, the operative had seemed reluctant to say much. In fact, the older youth had rather successfully avoided saying anything about the matter besides "You'll be fine."

Thinking about the answer dodging wasn't helping the blond any and it only made his stomach turn all the more. He could feel his palms beginning to coat in a cold sweat, and he could feel his body begin to shake. His arms and legs were growing heavy, and each step he took up the empty stairwell became more and more draining.

The dam in his mind broke wide open and all the questions he had been holding at bay surged forward. What if the testing showed him as incompatible? What if he freaked out before they even did the testing? Would they kick him out? Did he come all this way only to fail now? Had he stayed strong through all the abusive words and survived being beaten for nothing? Was everything he had been through for nothing?

Cloud swallowed hard as he tried to calm himself down. He was now standing just outside the medical ward's sliding door. If he was going to regain his composure it was now or never. Once he stepped through that the door there was no stopping the events that would follow. He had to have control starting now.

Confident that he had managed to mask his fears and uncertainties, Cloud stepped forward and the door slid open upon sensing him. Still nauseous, the blond youth entered the long, rectangular, dull room and approached the nurse sitting behind the tall desk.

"Umm, I'm here for", the blond started in more of a whisper than he had meant to but he was cut off by a quick gesture of the nurse signaling him to hold on for a second.

The nurse continued to click away on her keyboard for a few moments before she finally looked up at the delicate blond standing on the other side of the desk biting his lip. She brushed a section of her dark hair that had fallen out of the bun she wore back behind her ear and stared intently at Cloud as if analyzing him, her soft green eyes cool and piercing.

She sighed after a few seconds and looked back down at her computer screen, asking calmly and coolly, "You are a SOLDIER candidate, are you not?"

"Uh, yes I am. I'm here for…", Cloud began to explain but was quickly cut off once more, this time by the nurses cool voice.

"Name", she more stated than asked.

" Strife, Cloud", the blond whispered briefly in response.

The almost mechanical nurse began to type away on her keyboard once more. A few short seconds of clacking keys and several mouse clicks later her green eyes glanced back up to study Cloud's face carefully. While she was working ever so diligently, Cloud stood shifting nervously in place, rolling the fraying hem of his ratty gray shirt between his index finger and thumb.

"Alright mister Strife, I have you on file. You are noted here as being scheduled for mako testing today at ten am. My clock shows the time as nine fifty am and I have not received word that they are ready for the next candidate at this time. Your instructions are to please have a seat in one of the open chairs here in the waiting room until you are called back for your testing", the nurse shot off smoothly, her voice reminding Cloud of a very crisp, soft, female AI voice.

Cloud glanced over his shoulder to find an open seat but remembered the room had been empty when he walked in only minutes ago. He flushed gently out of embarrassment, though there was no way anyone else knew he had just had such a bad memory laps, and backed away from the nurse's desk, muttering a quick thanks even though he knew the nurse was probably ignoring him now.

The nervous youth took a seat in one of the cold metal chairs directly across from the nurse's desk. He fidgeted for a few seconds before finally settling into a position where his elbows rested on his thighs just above his knees, his hands were pressed together, his fingers interlocked, and his head was down so he could stair directly at the ground between his feet.

Time ticked by, but the blond had no idea how long had really passed. The gentle humming of the lights, and probably the climate control unit as well, grew louder and louder in his ears. His breathing was slow and even but each breath felt heavy.

The sliding and click of the metal door directly across the room and to the left of the nurse's desk startled Cloud, causing him to jump in his seat and snap out of the self created vortex of worry and confusion in his head.

Cloud's body tensed as he snapped his head upright to see who had caused the door to open. Surprise took over the blonde's state of mind providing a temporary escape from his current set of feelings.

The who that Cloud's unnaturally blue eyes settled on was none other than candidate Himora which made absolutely no sense to the blond. If he was recalling correctly, which he was certain he was, Himora was scheduled for a time after him. So why was he coming out of the medical ward before him?

Confused, Cloud opened his mouth to call out to Himora but stopped himself short of actually forming any words in his mouth. Something wasn't right with his roommate. Himora's eyes lacked their usual cold flame and were instead distant and glassy in appearance. He looked pale and worn out, and his movements were labored and slow. The young man was a shadow of his real self and everything about him was opposite of what it should be.

Dazed and exhausted, with slow ungraceful steps, Himora wearily trudged through the door way and into the waiting room. Cloud could hear his roommate's heavy breathing and the more steps the other candidate took into the room, the more the blond saw him shaking. But what startled the blond more than his roommate's diminished state was how the nurse behind the desk spared no more than a passing glance for his roommate.

One uneasy step after another, Himora continued his trek deeper into the waiting room and towards the door. Just as the silver haired youth was passing in front of Cloud, he took one truly bad step and stumbled to a knee with an airy whisper of a cry.

Cloud near about jumped from his seat towards Himora but stopped dead in his tracks when Himora glared at him from the corner of his eye. The single look was enough to tell the blond that the other youth didn't want his help and that he would probably retaliate if the blond even tried to help him, which would only make things worse.

Grimacing and teeth clenched, Himora slowly struggled to get back onto his feet, his legs wobbling in protest of his efforts. Breathing even harder, the youth stood in a wide uneven stance, his back slightly arched forward, and his right hand clutching his left arm. He stood shaking for a few moments before pushing himself to straighten up his posture and narrow his stance.

Ready to rush to the other candidate if he fell, Cloud watched, feet still positioned how they were when he had slid to a stop. His blue eyes widened as Himora's already vibrant green eyes appeared to start glowing lightly. True his roommate's eyes had appeared to have a bit of a glow to them before but the way they appeared now was nothing like that. It wasn't the light playing of the crystalline nature of the irises. It was an actual glow that was originating somewhere behind the eye.

All Cloud could do after seeing Himora's eyes change like that was watch his roommate make his way to the medical ward's front door. Just as the silver haired youth reached the door, however, the blond found it in him to speak and took a step after him.

"Himora", Cloud started, lifting a hand as if to reach for the other youth.

The usually cocky youth turned to look over his sagging shoulder at the blond, but the blond youth was unable to continue with what he was going to say. Just as he had opened his mouth to speak again another voice, originating from the door next to the nurse's desk, drifted in over his, methodically stating, "Candidate Strife, we are now ready for you."

The blond glanced over at the young man who was the owner of the voice that had just called him and then glanced back at his roommate who was still standing in the door to the hallway and staring tiredly back at him. The young candidate wanted to continue with what he was going to say but sighed in submission when the sound of the man in the other door way clearing his throat sounded impatiently through the silence. Being cut off seemed to be the growing theme of the day and at this point he could do nothing about it.

Reluctantly, Cloud tore his eyes from his roommate and headed towards the man who had summoned him away. Once again scrutinizing eyes looked him up and down, and like before, he couldn't help but feel put off by the surveying. The man nodded in satisfaction and waved for Cloud to follow without saying another word.

Down the long white metallic hallway the man lead the uneasy youth. At first the hallway didn't seem like it could have been all that long but Cloud quickly decided it was deceptive in its true length. He smiled inwardly as the words "down the rabbit hole" played them selves through his mind. Then he almost laughed audibly when his imagination provided the image of Zack walking down the hallway backwards in front of him chanting in a steady rhythm, "Down the rabbit hole we trek. But how far down does it stretch? It doesn't look as if it bends. Do we really know if it ends? We will have to wait and see, but there's no knowing where we'll be."

The image provided some comfort for the blond as he continued to follow the young man wearing a lab coat, and for at least a few seconds Cloud was able to forget about everything that was scaring him at the time.

Unfortunately, the mental retreat was only strong enough to last Cloud to the end of the hall and through a second sliding door. As soon as the blond youth cleared the door way he began to pull out of his comforting, and amusing, day dream.

The hallway walls were no longer white in color and the floor was no longer comprised of light gray tiles. Instead, the walls were now a dark steely gray and the floor was a dark, almost black, cement surface. These sudden changes lead Cloud to believe that he was no longer in the medical ward or that, in the very least, he was in a very _special_ part of the ward.

It had been hard enough to be at ease in the more gentle and subtle environment he had been in before walking through the second doorway, and now that the his surroundings were so much darker and harsher, it was near impossible for the blond to feel even remotely at ease.

Another feeble smile spread across Cloud's lips as yet another stray thought came to mind. 'Zack', he thought to himself, 'I don't think I'm in Midgar any more.'

Once again the sorry excuse of a distraction fled from his mind as the lab coat man stopped in front of a room a short way down the new hallway to open a black sliding door with the words "Testing Room C-2 MW" written in broad white lettering across it.

The door glided open without making a sound and the man gestured for Cloud to enter the room. Cloud froze momentarily, unable to bring himself to walk by the man and enter the room.

His dream to become a member of SOLDIER and the thought of seeing Zack later was all that gave Cloud the courage he needed to resume functioning, and, though still petrified inside and shaking on the outside, he entered the room.

The room was long and rectangular in shape with a high ceiling, and the door was positioned only feet from the right wall creating a huge gap between it and the left wall. Metal rafters ran length wise across the ceiling and a single large square duct ran along the back wall, which had 2 metal gratings to allow the ventilation it provided. Surprisingly the walls within the room were lighter in color than the hallway, but they were still a deep gray.

The lighting was particularly odd within the room. Out in the hallway the lighting had been just plain dim, but in here it was more what Cloud wanted to call weird. The lights seemed to be adequately bright enough to light the room but the room was appearing dimmer than it should have been. It was as if the walls and everything else in the room were sucking up most of the light the overhead lights hanging from the rafters created.

There were a few machines with flashing lights and no lack of buttons and knobs of some kind arranged along the far wall with a single long counter, complete with dark cabinets both above and built in, stretched out in the center. Along the left wall was centered a single tank with a black base and cap filled with an odd green liquid that bubbled and swirled, a faint glow emanating from it.

Centered along the wall the door was in, and about five feet out from the wall, was a single metal chair that was fastened to the floor at his cylindrical base. The chairs arms were wide with a slight indentation running along the center. A leg rest of sorts slopped gently out from the front edge of the seat, hooking up at the end. On the right and left side of the less than comfortable looking foot rest, the rest extended further to better fit the full length of a foot. Although the chair was fairly bland in appearance, Cloud couldn't help but feel there was more to the chair, like there was something he was over looking.

Cloud's survey of the room was cut off when an old man with hunched shoulders and slick, long black hair tied in a low ponytail came striding out of the far corner where a sink the blond had over looked was situated, drying his hands with a white rag. The blond could only assume that the old man's angry and annoyed expression was rather permanently set onto his face, downward angled eyebrows and all.

"What? Are you waiting for an invitation or something? Take a seat all ready. I think it's rather obvious that is what you were meant to do but perhaps you are as dim witted as all the other imbeciles I am stuck testing", the old man barked in unnecessary irritation at Cloud before walking arrogantly over to a table on the far side of the chair welded to the floor.

"Lets pick up the pace you scrawny little lab rat, I mean, you ridiculously young trainee. I haven't got all day", the irritable man hurried the youth, pausing for a moment and then starting into a monologue of sorts, "Well, actually…I think I do have all day. But I rather spend time on a more interesting specimen, I mean, spend my time doing something more interesting. So I would rather find out how dull you are going to be now so I can decide how long I'm going to hold onto you."

Despite the urging to pick up the pace, Cloud moved hesitantly over to the unwelcoming chair, unintentionally dragging his feet. The youth paused in front of the chair only able to stare at it with distrust and uncertainty. "Oh hurry it up you little rat before I call for someone to physically force you into that seat", the old man hissed, the harshness, and sincerity, in the man's voice startling the blond.

Cloud turned uneasily, placed his hands on the ends of the arm rests, and unwillingly lowered himself down and back into the chair, pulling his feet reluctantly from the floor and placing them in the spots he assumed he was intended to place his feet.

The very same second he finished placing his feet and sliding all the way back into the seat, restraints clicked into place around his wrists and just above his ankles, and a crescent shaped padded neck rest pressed itself up against the back of his neck. Panic stricken, Cloud instinctively struggled against the restraints, summoning every ounce of strength to try and free his arms and legs.

No matter how hard he jerked his limbs, no matter how much he pulled against the metal wrapped around his wrists and lower legs, no matter how hard he thrashed, the restraints wouldn't budge. Quickly his lower arms, the backs of his legs, and ankles began to throb with pain as bruises already began to form on his delicate pale skin wherever his body slammed into the cold hard metal.

The old man only chuckled at Cloud's panicked state and continued whatever it was he was doing at the table. "We have a real fighter. Though I don't think you're going to get anywhere with that inane thrashing", the scientist mused aloud, glancing coldly over at Cloud before commanding, "Now cut that out. You're making far too much racket and all the movement is going to make it much more difficult for me to run my tests."

Panting and aching, Cloud managed to stop himself from fighting his bonds, but no matter how hard he tried he could not stop the panic consuming him. His heart raced and each beat of the important muscle shook his entire chest. Shaking and in cold sweats, the blond glanced over at the scientist still working away at the table next to him.

Dark eyes glared back at the blond momentarily but soon returned to table. "I'm assuming you're done then", the scientist stated blandly, looking over at the stricken youth once more.

Cloud wrenched his eyes from the scientist and glared at the floor, his mind going numb. Though it didn't seem possible, the old man's frown depended. "How rude. A child refusing to answer the question of an elder", the scientist growled, "Not only that but you certainly are not paying respect where it's due. Perhaps I should explain to you just who I am since you are to naïve to know anything besides how to be a great brute."

The old scientist turned on his heel, his long white lab coat swirling around his legs. "I am Professor Hojo, head scientist and you will do well to remember me and treat me with the respect I deserve", the professor lectures folding his arms over his chest.

'Professor…Hojo…', Cloud thought numbly to himself trying to remember where he had heard that name before and if he had heard it ever before now, but he couldn't remember if he had with his current state of mind.

"Unimpressed I see but that makes no difference. I didn't expect someone as simple minded as you to fully appreciate my genius", Hojo gloated turning back to the table adding as an after thought, "Go ahead and begin the recorder and start the sensors. I'm ready to start with this one."

The man that had led Cloud to this room swiftly walked over to the computer imbedded in the counter across the room from the chair. He clicked away on the key board, reached over and turned a few knobs on a nearby panel, and flipped a switch. Once he finished he swiveled the chair around and nodded, declaring, "Everything is all set Professor."

Hojo grinned darkly and picked something up off the table but Cloud was too freaked out to look over. "Candidate Number 153, Cloud Strife. Mako testing proceeding as planned. Moving forward with type 2 mako injection", Hojo stated coldly for the purpose of notes.

Cloud retreated as far into him self as he could go, trying his hardest to forget where he was and what was happening. If he could just block everything out maybe this would all pass that much easier. Maybe if he pretend he was somewhere else it wouldn't be so bad.

A sharp twinge in his upper left arm jerked Cloud completely back into reality. His skin around the point where he had felt the twinge slowly started to burn and the sensation of something slowly leaking into his arm took over his senses.

Almost instantly Cloud's arm began to throb and a searing pain raced through every nerve in his body causing him to grimace and clench his eyes shut. A thin layer of sweat formed over the surface of his skin. It felt as if his body was lighting on fire from the inside out.

At first the pain came in quick pulses, consuming his body for mere seconds before dispersing for a few split seconds. He could feel his muscles begin to strain and flex with the short waves, and as the waves became longer, the blond felt the control he had over his body slipping away. Quickly the pain transitioned into being constant and there were no more split seconds of relief.

All control of his body was lost when his muscles began to convulse from the pain racking his entire body. His breathing grew erratic, his heart pounded desperately against his rib cage, throbbing uncontrollably within his chest, and a strangled cry of pain escaped his lips.

Muscles tightening, Cloud arched his back, every ounce of his being straining against the cursed pieces of metal holding him in place. His body convulsed once more and he bucked more violently against the restraints, the chair rattling from the force behind his struggles. His body fought to curl inward on its own once the second wave of convulsions stopped, but he was unable to lean forward more than a couple of inches.

Tears streaked down his pale face unhindered. What was once a thin layer of sweat turned into droplets running down his entire body. Strained cries trapped within a tight throat and behind clenched teeth bounced around the room mixing with the gentle hum of the machinery.

A ripping sensation spread throughout Cloud's chest causing him to jerk backwards in the seat, throwing his head back in anguish. He wanted to scream but his nothing but sharp bursts of air would pass through his throat and out his pale lips now, but soon the desire to scream passed, replaced with the frantic fight to breath.

Still straining against his bonds and struggling to breath, Cloud's eyes slowly opened only to give him a view of the ceiling and rafters. Details blurred and the lights began to intensify and fade in short pulsating waves, and then the lights grew overwhelming. Cloud's world turned to white for a few moments, during which time the blond could still feel and hear everything, and then…

Cloud's whole world turned black and every one of his senses when numb. He could see nothing. He could hear nothing. He could feel nothing.

…………..

Zack paced back and forth in front of the door way to the waiting room of the medical ward. He had originally planned to just go about his day and check in on Cloud latter, but the desire to know how everything had gone had proved too great for the operative. So rather than fight the inevitable, the dark haired operative had wandered all the way up to the medical ward.

Arriving with the initial impression that it would not be more than a half hour before he saw the blond, Zack had started out by camping in front of the door. At first he simply leaned against the wall, his strong arms folded in front of his formed chest. After about ten or fifteen minutes he lost the ability to hold still and began doing squats to pass the time. Another fifteen minutes passed and the squats began to loose their distraction value.

Getting more than a little board, Zack had begun to pace a little, taking a rather messy path up and down the hallway and taking lazy swiveling turns when ever he redirected himself to go back in the direction he had just come from. As he wandered up and down the hall his mind began to race a little, an onslaught of questions, thoughts, and concerns slowly building up in the back of his head. His thoughts going further and further in the direction of worry, Zack's pacing tightened up considerably. His path was becoming more and more strait, and his wide turns became tight, short, and deliberate in nature.

The operative sighed out of anxiety. It was taking Cloud longer then he had expected, and not just by a little bit. Normally testing and acclimation ran about a half hour but the hour marker was coming up fast, and he couldn't figure out why it was taking his boyfriend so long.

Maybe there had been complications. Zack swallowed hard as he stopped to stare at the long sliding door that had yet to slide open except for when another candidate had entered a little while ago. His heart pounded a little harder in his chest and his mind raced a little more with all the bad possibilities it could come up with.

One bad possibility after another played it self through his mind before he finally shook his head and took a deep breath. Just because the blond hadn't come out yet didn't necessarily mean something had gone wrong. There was also the possibility that the scientists and medical staff doing the testing were just simply running behind schedule.

Zack ran both of his hands through his spiky black hair before interlocking his fingers behind his head. He shook his head, lecturing himself momentarily about being to quick to jump to bad conclusions. "After all, it isn't unusual in the least for things around here to run behind schedule", he reassured himself out loud as the conclusion of his self lecture.

After a few deep breaths, the normally happy-go-lucky operative walked back over to the wall directly across from the door and took up his original stance when he had first arrived, arms folded and everything. He closed his eyes and forced himself to start thinking about happier things, like next weekend when he would really have his chance to help Cloud celebrate his birthday. A soft smile formed on his thin lips as he walked himself through his grand plan for next Saturday, visuals playing themselves with ease in his minds eye.

He could see it all. The sun would just be starting to go down as he and Cloud walked into town sometime after six. They would stop at a small restaurant Zack had come to rather enjoy that he thought Cloud would like called "The Blue Chocobo". Cloud would choose where the two of them would sit and they would then take their time enjoying their meal in the relaxed atmosphere of the place.

Zack continued to visualize what was too come, walking through his wonderful plan, but was pulled from his mental walkthrough when he heard the door slid open in front of him. His blazing blue eyes snapped open and his chipper mood when out like a candle that had been assaulted with a bucket of cold water. Cloud looked like nothing more than a breathing doll standing in the doorway.

Cloud took a few weak thoughtless steps forward, leaving the sensor range of the door causing it to slide shut behind him. The blond stood swaying slightly in front of the now closed door, his eyes expressionless and dull, and his face void of any real expression. He was holding his right arm in front of his body, with his hand grasping weakly at his left arm just above the elbow. The blonde's posture was relaxed, though a little too relaxed for Zack's liking, with his shoulders sagging and his head tilted slightly forward.

The most unnerving thing about the blonde's appearance had to be his eyes. Not only were they empty in appearance, they seemed to be looking right through everything. It was if Cloud was seeing but not at the same time. Everything his eyes were taking in wasn't really being registered the rest of the way back in his head. It was like he was looking directly through Zack as if he was nothing more than air.

"Oh gods", Zack whispered leaning slowly forward off the metal wall of the hallway. The dark haired operative walked slowly up to Cloud and carefully placed a hand on one of the younger man's drooped shoulders. He leaned in, tilting his head and bending over a little so he could look the blond directly in the face.

Zack very gently shook his boyfriend and whispered a quick "Hey, Cloud" trying to gain some sort of response from him. When the first little shake didn't do it, he carefully jostled the blonde's shoulder again. "Hey Cloud", the operative spoke again in a low gentle voice, "You with me buddy? Are you alright?"

Cloud lifted his head slightly to look directly at Zack. Almost as soon as Zack could flash the younger youth a caring smile the youth blinked blankly at him and then slowly dropped his gaze back more in the direction of the ground.

With a look just short of pure pathetic and depressed, Zack sighed and straitened back up, keeping his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. The mako testing and acclimation had really taken a toll on Cloud though he couldn't imagine why Cloud was this bad. It was true some responded more severely to the testing and what not, but the point Cloud was at was nothing short of unreal.

Zack had seen candidates come out of all this looking spaced out but they all still had the capacity to respond. Cloud, it seemed, didn't even have the capacity to really react to anything at this point. It was like someone had hit the off switch for everything but vital functions. The older youth had also seen candidates come out exhausted before, but the blond was more than exhausted. He was absolutely drained. His body looked so limp.

It looked like Zack had made the right choice to give in and come wait for Cloud. The blond was in no state to be left on his own, and there was no doubt in Zack's mind that if Zahawk and his remaining lackeys saw Cloud wandering in the state alone, they would surly relish the precious time they would be able to make of his lifeless state. Yes, it was more than a good thing that he had given in and waited for Cloud outside the medical wing.

The older youth turned to start walking down the hallway, urging Cloud to walk with him by lightly pulling at the blonde's shoulder with the tips of his fingers. Cloud turned slowly with the pressure and Zack took a few slow steps down the hallway, his hand sliding from his Boyfriend's shoulder. Although the younger youth had turned to face the right direction he wasn't following after the older youth.

After a few seconds of waiting for the younger youth to start moving, the operative took a step or two backwards and reached for one of the blonde's limp arms. His fingertips brushed the other youth's skin and as if that was all that was necessary, the blond started to amble forward. Vaguely relived by the technical reaction to a slight stimulus, Zack set off to lead the small candidate through the compound.

Although concerned about how well Cloud would be able to handle stairs, the dark haired youth led the blond in the direction of the stairs, glancing back subtly every few seconds to make sure he was still being followed. Moving down the hallway, Zack became more confident that other youth would be able to manage the stairs without too much of a problem. The blond was walking easily enough anyway, and he wasn't showing any sign of real difficulty.

Zack turned to head down the stairs and glanced back over his shoulder two or three steps down only to discover Cloud was ambling right by the stairs. He scurried back up the steps and down the few feet of hallway after the blond, reaching out to gently clasp a hand around the doll like blonde's wrist as soon as he caught up to him. Right on contact, the other youth ceased walking.

The operative sighed yet again, this time feeling just a little sick as he finally accepted the Cloud really was almost one-hundred percent disconnected from reality at this time. There was no way he could count on him to simply follow him, and there was absolutely no way he was going to leave him alone until this state had passed. This meant that bringing Cloud back to the candidate rooming was no longer an option.

Well, Zack could still bring the youth back there, but it would appear more than a little off if a SOLDIER operative led a mindless candidate back to their room and then spent the rest of the day just sitting in there with him. It really went without saying that a prolonged presence in the candidate wing would draw more attention than he would like to. In fact, it would probably bring more than just unwanted attention. It would probably cause Cloud trouble latter down the road, and the youth's constant association with him had already caused some repercussions. So going back to the candidate wing was now definitely out of the picture.

The next option the dark haired operative had was to bring the small youth back to the infirmary. In the infirmary he could be sure that Cloud wouldn't be left entirely alone and that the youth would be safe from Zahawk and his crazy followers.

However, as tempting of a possibility the infirmary was, Zack was unwilling to bring the youth back there. For one thing, it wouldn't look to good on the candidate's record that he had to return after mako testing and acclimation. It would make him look incompetent and unsuitable to be a member of SOLDIER. This being especially true because the staff had cleared him to leave the ward, which meant they thought he was fine and in no need of assistance. So taking the youth back to the medical ward was now out of the picture as well.

Zack stood there, still holding onto Cloud's wrist, as he thought through further options. He could possibly walk around with Cloud in tow until he could find Kitami, Shin, or possibly both of them. He could trust the two of them to look after Cloud.

He thought about the new option for a few seconds before dismissing it. Running around the SOLDIER compound with a candidate being dragged along behind him was going to bring just as much, if not more, attention as sitting with the candidate in the candidate wing. Once again another option was struck from the list of possibilities.

After a few more seconds another option dawned on the dark haired youth. He could just simply bring Cloud back to his room. He had no roommates, so he wouldn't have to worry about someone making an issue of it and the blond wouldn't be in the way of anyone.

On top of their being no roommate, Zack didn't really have any official plans for the day so he would be able to stick around the blond for most of the day which would mean he could keep on eye on the candidate. What was better was that if he needed to leave for a little bit, he knew that he Cloud would be safe in his room. To top it all off, his room was a quiet place that Cloud could rest without being disturbed, and right now, that seemed like something the small blond needed.

It was settled. Zack was just going to bring Cloud back to his room. It was his best option out of everything he could come up with. The operative pulled Cloud gently by the wrist and the doll state blond followed him obediently over to the stairs.

Zack continued to hold onto the blonde's wrist until he reached the glass doors to go back out into the courtyard. He ushered Cloud through the door and used a gentle hand on the shoulder to guide the blond in the right direction as he stepped by the younger youth. He continued to lead the blond all the way to the barracks, using small touched to redirect the other youth when it was necessary and glancing back occasionally to make his boyfriend hadn't wandered off.

Once inside the barracks, however, it was like auto pilot had finally turned on inside the small youth's head. The blond meekly pressed a hand to the elevator call button and boarded the moving box the second the doors finish sliding open. Inside the elevator he mindlessly reached for the third floor button. "Hold up there Cloud", Zack chuckled weakly, softly placing a hand over the blonde's reaching one to push it back down and away from the button, "Your going somewhere a little different than where you're used to."

With the hand that wasn't over Cloud's, Zack hit the button for the fifth floor. Now that he thought about it, the blond had never even been to his room before. It was a shame that the first time the delicate youth was going to see the place was while he was to out of it to really comprehend anything.

Zack chuckled at the thought of having to explain to Cloud later where he was and how he got there. It was going to be an awkward, yet somehow amusing, situation to say the least. While Zack mused over what he was going to say, the delicate blonde's breathing suddenly picked up.

Alarmed, the operative pulled himself from his thoughts to look Cloud over. The other youth seemed paler than he had before and a thin layer of sweat was quickly forming over his delicate skin. His chest was moving far more visibly than it had before and his lifeless eyes had a hint of pain deep within them. Then, just as suddenly as all the new symptoms began to appear, the blonde's knees gave way sending him plummeting to the floor of the elevator.

"Shit", Zack hissed as he only barely managed to catch his boyfriend, preventing the light framed teen from cracking his head against the side of the elevator. The operative readjusted from kneeling on one knee to half sitting as he shifted his boyfriend's limp shaking body so he could cradle him in his arms.

As soon as the doors opened with a soft chime, the older youth hoisted the smaller youth into his arms and rose carefully to his feet, the normally light youth feeling much heavier than normal due to his state of dead weight.

Breathing heavy from the subtle distress starting to creep up on him, Zack carried Cloud through the hallways of the fifth floor towards his own room. Saying Cloud was in bad shape was more than an understatement at this point, and the operative was now praying to the life stream that all Cloud would get through this with some rest and a little bit of time.

Not quite panicking just yet, Zack's mind started to get away from him yet again, which seemed to happen a lot when it came to the small youth who he was currently carrying. What if Cloud really needed to go back to the medical ward? What if rest and time wasn't all Cloud needed to get through this? Was it bad idea after all to have brought the blond this far? Had he moved the younger youth too much too soon? Was it his fault his boyfriend had collapsed?

Zack shook his head as he made the final turn onto the hallway his room was located off of. He was getting worked up far too easily once again. A candidate passing out after mako testing was not unheard of and it wasn't rare. It also wasn't impossible for the candidate to make it a little ways before they passed out. In fact, he himself had done it and remembered that moment…those few seconds…all too well.

He could barely remember the actual mako testing and acclimation. He had remembered bits and pieces of it, but for the most part he remembered an injection, immense irritation, a sort of painful pulsating feeling running through his nerves, and then walking out into the medical ward sitting room. He had left feeling a little light headed and dazed, like he severely needed sleep or something. He had then made it all the way back to his room where he collapsed almost as soon as he walked through the door. The next thing he remembered he was waking up a few hours later on his bed with one of his roommates looking after him.

So with all memories more or less searched and taken into account, it was far too soon to officially freak out. A little calmer because of the decision, Zack leaned against the wall next to the door to his room. As carefully as he could, the dark haired youth brought up his leg next to the wall to provide support for the blond, He pulled away his arm by the wall slowly, wanting to make sure he could still hold the blond with only one arm and a leg.

Satisfied that he wasn't going to drop his precious load, Zack clumsily typed in the code for his room and the door slid open almost instantly. With a grunt the SOLDIER operative readjusted the trainee in his arms and staggered through the door with him cradled against his chest.

With a sigh the dark haired operative lowered his unconscious boyfriend onto his relatively beat up old leather couch. At first he lingered next to the unconscious blond, running his lightly tanned hand over the younger youth's smooth pale face. It was colder to the touch than the older youth had expected, but his concern was kept to a minimum since his love's breathing had calmed somewhat.

Zack straitened up and looked around his simple little room that was actually very much a luxury. Along the right hand wall was his pathetic little excuse for a TV that worked well enough most of the time, not that he stuck around to use it all that much. Halfway between the TV and the couch was his small little wooden coffee table that was surprisingly clean for once, which was a relief to Zack since that meant a little les cleaning he would have to do before his boyfriend woke up.

Against the far wall from the door was his bulky leather recliner that he could never recline in because it was too close to the wall and window. The operative frowned when he realized he had some of his dirty clothes just flung carelessly all over the seat. The coffee table might have been clean but the rest of the room really wasn't and the chair was just his quick reminder. With that in mind he turned to look at his table against the wall behind the couch.

The table being one of the two closest things to the door, and for the most part right in front of it, had some of the operatives training gear scattered over it's surface along with a few old take out boxes. Zack wrinkled his nose at the sight. It wasn't uncommon for him to have some garbage on his table, and it wasn't necessarily the garbage that bothered him. What bothered him was the fact that he hadn't eaten take out up here for a couple weeks. But the odd thing was that there was no smell or anything, which could only mean that there wasn't any old food left in them. In its own right, this little fact was somewhat of a comfort…at least it meant he didn't have to go track down air freshener.

The more Zack looked around his sitting room the more he realized why he hadn't brought Cloud to his room yet. It was a mess. The book case next to the door was disorganized with books sitting haphazardly on top along with a few misplaced papers. The actual shelves were relatively in order but there were a few places where books had fallen over and some of the trinkets in the open spaces looked as if he hadn't touched them in a while.

Next to his bedroom door on the right wall and not too far from his TV sat his overflowing laundry basic. It wasn't that he never did laundry, it was just his laundry basket was too small. But the excuse that he had been meaning to buy a better one was hardly going to make his room look any cleaner.

At first Zack only shook his head, kicking himself mentally for letting his room stay in such a messy state, but when he realized that he had probably laid his love down on part of that mess he could only hand his head in shame.

He turned his attention back to the unconscious blond on his couch. Carefully he sat the blond up shoving all the paper the younger youth's back had been on top of off the couch and onto the floor. Positive there was nothing else on the couch, Zack slowly lowered Cloud's head back down.

Once again the operative looked around the room. Cloud was rather cold to the touch and the operative had a spare blanket lying around somewhere in this part of his room. He spotted his dark blue blanket on the other side of the couch. Quickly he reached for it and drugged it over to himself.

Taking the blanket by two of the corners Zack shook it a few times to untangle it and then proceeded to gently place it over the unconscious form of his boyfriend, revealing the large gray wolves printed into the fabric of the blanket.

Next Zack retreated into his bedroom for a few seconds to retrieve one of his soft gray pillows. As soft as the couch was, a pillow made sleeping on the thing a much more pleasant experience. That and Zack wanted to do everything he could for the blond. There would be no cutting corners in any way, shape, or form. Of course the bed probably would have been a better choice for his boyfriend but Zack wanted to wash and change the sheets before letting someone else in it. After all, sheets needed to be changed every two weeks or so and two weeks was coming up.

Only after the pillow was under the blonde's spiky haired head did the operative turn his attention to his room again. "He could stay out for a while but…", the operative thought out loud, glancing slowly around his room, taking in the dirty clothes, the multitude of misplaced papers, the disheveled bookshelf, and the presence of week old trash that should have been gone by now, "…the sooner this place looks clean the better I'll feel. I just don't think I want to run the risk of him waking up to see my room in this…state."

With yet another sigh, Zack ran a callused hand through his black spiky hair. He had his work cut out for him but it was for the better. Determined, as ready as he was ever going to be, and with the motivation only Cloud gave him, Zack set to work on straitening up his room and cleaning up his bathroom that consisted of nothing more than a sink and a toilet.

…………..

Wearily Cloud blinked his eyes open. His head was spinning and his stomach was both screaming at him in hunger and threatening to empty everything it didn't have inside of it. Each muscle in his body ached and his chest felt as if someone had spent the last few hours just sitting on it.

Muscles surging with protest, Cloud sat up slowly, each and every one of his joints creaking and popping. His vision spun with the effort, and the blond had to clench his eyes shut to stop from becoming even more disoriented. He reached up with his left hand to grasp the back of the couch to steady him self while he waited for the spinning feeling to stop.

Certain the room had ceased to dance around his stationary body, Cloud reopened his eyes to take in his surroundings. He looked around the room blankly. When he had first been waking up his brain was telling him that he had to be in either his own room or the medical wing, but from what he was seeing he wasn't in either of those places.

Cloud slowly looked around the room, his already upset stomach twisting into a knot. He didn't recognize this place at all. His mind was offering no possibilities and the more he looked around the whit walled room the more he wondered where the hell he was.

Stiffly the blond turned his body to place his feet on the dark navy carpeted floor. The carpeting was soft and warm beneath his feet but it did little to calm his slowly reawakening nerves. With a grunt the youth lifted him self shakily off the worn leather couch. Still teetering slightly on his feet, the youth turned cautiously to get a better look around the room.

The cool air caused his body to shiver. Not liking the change from being warm and comfortable to cold Cloud reached for the blanket that had slipped off of him to dangle halfway off the couch. He wrapped the wolf blanket around himself tightly and resumed his quest of exploration.

In front of him was a small dark wooden coffee table stacked with piles of papers, folders, and files. Just beyond that was a metal framed TV sitting on a dark metal stand and storage unit. The two small shelves below the screen were for the most part empty except for a few DVDs lined neatly up side by side on the top shelf. To the right of the TV sat a small white basket with two neatly folded stacks of clothes inside. A little more to the right were two doors spaced only a foot or two away from each other.

The first of the two doors was halfway closed but Cloud could make out the corner of a bed just beyond it. The second door was wide open revealing a small gray tiled room. Judging by the metal counter and sink, Cloud assumed the room was a simple bathroom.

To his left Cloud found a plush, worn, leather recliner that matched the couch he had been laying on. About even with the chair Cloud spotted heavy navy curtains that he assumed were drawn closed in front of a window.

The candidate half stumbled over to the covered window, his legs shaking weakly from supporting his weight. With one hand he pulled one half of the curtains out of the way of the window to reveal a simple skyline of Shinra buildings. The sky was an inky gray with a twinge of purple and deep red, which could only mean the sun was setting somewhere out of sight.

With a sigh Cloud let go of the navy curtain and let his hand fall back by his side. He now had an idea of what time it was but he was no closer to figuring out where he was. The blond turned back around and looked tiredly around the simple room once again.

The spinning Cloud had experienced early slammed back into his head with a vengeance and he could feel his sense of balance and direction quickly slipping away from him. Stomach threatening more than ever to cause him problems, the blond youth slowly and clumsily made his way back over to the sofa where he promptly sat down to regain himself.

A wave of drowsiness washed over the blond and he found himself helpless to resist the urge to lay back down, the fluffy gray pillow all to comforting to his slowly throbbing head. He closed his eyes, easily drifting towards sleep but soon found himself only on the verge of sleep, his body shivering slightly. The blanket may have been wrapped around him effectively while he was standing, but now that he was lying down it was no longer doing its job.

Sorely, and with muscles growing limp with exhaustion, Cloud wrestled with the blanket for a few moments until it covered his whole body. Although it was tangled around him he felt comfortable and warm and that was all that mattered. Once again he found himself drifting back to sleep.

Cloud startled as he heard the sound of a metallic door sliding closed. His led coated heart jumped from his compressed chest to his raw throat. He attempted to go from completely vertical to sitting up but failed miserably, his head only making it a few inches off his pillow.

He groaned pathetically as he clenched his eyes shut, the world distorting in a white and gray blur since all he could see was the paneling of the roof and the tops of the walls. "So my sleeping beauty is finally awake", came a light masculine voice from somewhere in the room.

"Huh", Cloud managed to sound off miserably. The blond turned his head in hopes of discovering the source of the disembodied voice but found him self dead out of luck. Still out of it and his initial fear already dead and buried, the youth found him self closing his eyes as his muscles relaxed.

A smooth hand brushed over Cloud's brow, pushing his bangs up and out of the way before coming to rest on his forehead. "Well", the voice started, continuing only after the hand slid down to caress the blonde's face, "you seem to be doing better than you where earlier. So how do you feel?"

Disoriented like head been the first time he woke up, Cloud blinked his eyes slowly to look up at the owner of the hand and voice who was leaning on the back of the couch. The youth blinked slowly one more time before whispering meekly, "Zack?"

"You got it blonde", Zack responded softly with a grin before gently ruffling his boyfriend's already messy hair.

"I feel…", Cloud started only to pause as he searched his mind for a word he felt should have been much easier to pull into his grasp.

Zack sat down on his now mostly clean coffee table, careful not to knock over one of his neat stacks of papers and files, waiting patiently for the blond to find his words. "Weak", Cloud finally finished after a few seconds, the word rolling strangely off his tongue.

With a trade mark grin Zack reached out to the cute little blond and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry blonde. With a little rest you will be back to normal in no time", the older man reassured in a gentle tone.

Cloud slowly ran his own hand through his hair to restore it to his preferred messy style and sighed as deeply as his tiered chest would allow him to. He trusted Zack's words but he felt like he was going to need more than a little rest to recover from…well, now that he thought about it he couldn't really remember everything that had happened to him. He had gone to the medical wing for testing, ended up following a young man down a corridor into a weird room, and then after talking to an older man everything became a blur. Despite how little he could recall, the blond could remember his body screaming in agony and just remembering the pain caused the youth to shutter.

"Zack", Cloud whispered.

"Yes Cloud", the older youth answered quietly still watching the blond with gentle loving eyes.

Cloud sat silent for a moment while he formed his thoughts into a statement. Finally confident he wasn't going to spit out a mess of words the blond whispered, "What happened to me? I mean, what _exactly_ happened to me? I can't really remember much."

It was now Zack's turn to sit in silence. What was he going to tell his love interest? The worst possibility that came to the dark haired operatives mind was 'I have no idea. For all I know they stuck you full of needles, cloned you, and altered your memory some how.'

After thinking for a few moments Zack finally sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, I have no way of knowing what exactly happened to you. I do know that you were injected with mako. Beyond that it's up to the discretion of who ever was putting you through the testing."

This answer was not exactly what the blond wanted to hear but he was too exhausted to get all that visibly upset about it. Actually, the blond was too worn out to get all the upset internally as well. Unable to muster any other response, Cloud opted to simply nod his head.

"Hey Cloud", Zack asked quietly while his concern for the blond grew inside of him.

"Ya", the blond candidate responded after a few seconds.

The dark haired youth went quiet once again, his heart racing in his chest while he tried to get the words he wanted to say out. He had been thinking about it all afternoon but now that he was trying to say his thoughts out loud to his boyfriend he couldn't get them out.

There was no way it was a good idea for Cloud to go back to his own room tonight. The candidate had spent all day out cold, and even now he had very little energy. What if Zahawk and his thugs tried something? There was no way Cloud would be able to fend them off in this state. True, Kitami and Shin would be in the room all night but that just wasn't comforting enough. Besides, Tory Himora was in Cloud's room, and despite what the blond said about the other youth, Zack didn't trust Tory as far as he could throw him (And Zack wasn't even sure he could catch the other youth so he couldn't throw him).

The blond youth opened his dark blue eyes and fixed them wearily on Zack. Before Cloud could try to start speaking Zack sighed and whispered, "Sorry."

The dark haired youth took a deep breath and did his best to relax. "Cloud", he started as calmly as he could, though he still wasn't sure why he was so nervous, "I think you should stay with me tonight."

**A/N: Right, as always, let me know what you thought. Reviews really do help me to keep writing, and critical reviews help me keep an eye on what I should work on. Improvement is always a good thing and if you can help me do than bring it!**

**The question (or questions) for this chapter is this: How do you think Zack's propostion is going to go? What do you think will happen in the next chapter? (And my favorite question) What is your favorite part of the chapter or the stroy so far?**

**All right people, click that button at the bottom of the screen that contains the word "review" and let me know what you think! Till next time, happy reading!!**


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